AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 563,928 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 160% from the previous session’s volume of 216,537 shares.The stock last traded at $96.36 and had previously closed at $96.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AZZ shares. Roth Mkm started coverage on AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley boosted their target price on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on AZZ from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of AZZ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.67.

AZZ Trading Down 1.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $88.25 and a 200-day moving average of $84.64. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 63.84, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.77.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $403.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.30 million. AZZ had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.95%.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in AZZ by 3,790.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of AZZ by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in AZZ by 202.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in AZZ by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in AZZ by 2,150.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

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.