Acadian Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AZZ in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 69.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 38.6% in the second quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AZZ during the first quarter worth $77,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total value of $1,233,270.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total value of $1,233,270.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $27,638.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,121.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 1,511 shares of company stock worth $52,794 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of AZZ opened at $81.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.29, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24. AZZ Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.48 and a 12 month high of $88.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $79.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $413.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.25 million. AZZ had a net margin of 7.22% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Baird R W raised shares of AZZ to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on AZZ in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Noble Financial raised AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Friday, June 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of AZZ from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.80.

AZZ Profile

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.