D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Increases Position in The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK) by 106.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 646,849 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 333,984 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.44% of AZEK worth $27,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AZEK by 96.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 532,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,454,000 after purchasing an additional 261,697 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in AZEK during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,048,000. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in AZEK by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 68,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,872,000 after acquiring an additional 7,137 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in AZEK by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,377,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,050,000 after acquiring an additional 175,841 shares during the period. Finally, Scalar Gauge Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AZEK in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,643,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of AZEK from $58.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AZEK from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on AZEK from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on AZEK from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of AZEK in a report on Friday, August 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.24.

AZEK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZEK opened at $46.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 3.07 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The AZEK Company Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.03 and a 1 year high of $50.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 45.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.87. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.95.

AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $434.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.89 million. AZEK had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 13.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The AZEK Company Inc. will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZEK announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 17th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jesse G. Singh sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.75, for a total value of $542,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,024,444 shares in the company, valued at $42,770,537. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela J. Edwards purchased 600 shares of AZEK stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.70 per share, for a total transaction of $25,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,708 shares in the company, valued at $363,123.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jesse G. Singh sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.75, for a total transaction of $542,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,024,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,770,537. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

About AZEK

The AZEK Company Inc engages in the design, manufacturing, and selling of building products for residential, commercial, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: Residential and Commercial. The Residential segment designs and manufactures engineered outdoor living products, such as decking, railing, trim and molding, siding and cladding, pergolas and cabanas, and accessories under the TimberTech, AZEK Exteriors, VERSATEX, ULTRALOX, StruXure, and INTEX brands.