AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Now Covered by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $105.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AZZ. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of AZZ from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AZZ from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Noble Financial cut AZZ from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $88.33.

AZZ Price Performance

NYSE AZZ opened at $83.82 on Monday. AZZ has a 1 year low of $34.59 and a 1 year high of $85.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.63.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.23. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 6.61%. The firm had revenue of $366.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $351.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that AZZ will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AZZ

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AZZ during the first quarter worth $32,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in AZZ by 131.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AZZ during the first quarter worth $77,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in AZZ in the first quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AZZ by 253.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.