AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 148,708 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 227,809 shares.The stock last traded at $133.45 and had previously closed at $133.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AZZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AZZ from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AZZ from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on AZZ from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.25.

AZZ Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.55.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.05. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $448.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.58 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. AZZ’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. Analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. AZZ’s payout ratio is 14.63%.

Insider Activity

In other AZZ news, COO Jeffrey Vellines sold 4,220 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.55, for a total value of $647,981.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,834 shares in the company, valued at $281,610.70. This represents a 69.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 2,677 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total transaction of $401,737.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,252,450. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in AZZ by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,919 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,399,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of AZZ by 20.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AZZ by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc (NYSE: AZZ) is a provider of metal coating and coil coating solutions serving industrial and infrastructure markets. The company’s Metal Coatings segment offers hot-dip galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing and related finishing services designed to protect steel and other metal products from corrosion and extend their service life.

Through its Precoat Metals business, AZZ provides continuous coil coating services for flat-rolled steel and aluminum. Its coatings are used in products and applications including building materials, transportation equipment, appliances, consumer goods, packaging and other manufactured components.