AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Reaches New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $161.80 and last traded at $160.4780, with a volume of 31111 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.93.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This is an increase from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, April 27th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of AZZ from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of AZZ from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $127.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.00.

AZZ Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.60.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.15. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 19.23%.The firm had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $382.24 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.500-7.000 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in AZZ by 162.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 88,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,047,000 after purchasing an additional 54,590 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in AZZ by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 29,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in AZZ by 61.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 4,002 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in AZZ by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in AZZ by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 32,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc, incorporated in 1956 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading provider of galvanizing and metal finishing solutions alongside electrical equipment and services. The company supports a diverse range of industries—such as energy, infrastructure, heavy equipment and general industrial markets—by delivering corrosion protection and high-performance electrical solutions designed for demanding environments.

AZZ operates two primary business segments. The Global Coatings & Services segment offers hot-dip galvanizing, metal finishing, painting, powder coating and related value-added services to steel fabricators and original equipment manufacturers.