AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Stock Position Raised by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,145 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.21% of AZZ worth $5,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 2.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,922,000 after buying an additional 1,411 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP boosted its position in AZZ by 64.8% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 6,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in AZZ by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 7,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in shares of AZZ by 428.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 3,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of AZZ by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,100,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $90,887,000 after purchasing an additional 27,710 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AZZ Price Performance

NYSE AZZ opened at $77.07 on Friday. AZZ Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.59 and a fifty-two week high of $99.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. The business had revenue of $403.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. AZZ’s payout ratio is 45.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of AZZ from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Capital raised AZZ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.67.

About AZZ

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in North America. It offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries, as well as to fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the transmission and distribution, bridge and highway, petrochemical, and general industrial markets; and original equipment manufacturers.