AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Hits New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $82.41 and last traded at $81.86, with a volume of 150290 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.50.

The industrial products company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.23. AZZ had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The business had revenue of $366.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $351.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. AZZ’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is 19.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of AZZ from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Noble Financial downgraded AZZ from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 131.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $197,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.28.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in the United States, Canada, Brazil, China, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, and India. The company operates through AZZ Metal Coatings and AZZ Precoat Metals segments. The AZZ Metal Coatings segment offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries.