Crestline Management LP Makes New $3.49 Million Investment in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 42,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,485,000. Crestline Management LP owned about 0.14% of AZZ at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AZZ by 202.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in AZZ by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of AZZ by 2,150.0% in the fourth 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. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of AZZ by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 18,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.91, for a total value of $1,694,893.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,317,295.37. This trade represents a 8.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AZZ shares. Noble Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm started coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Capital raised AZZ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Sidoti raised AZZ from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AZZ presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.71.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZZ opened at $89.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 60.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.25. AZZ Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.59 and a 52 week high of $99.49.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.78 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. Analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.77%.

AZZ Profile

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.