AZZ Inc. $AZZ Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ – Free Report) by 958.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,336 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AZZ were worth $3,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new stake in AZZ during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $18,429,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,357,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,843,000 after purchasing an additional 80,099 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 78.3% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 232,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,920,000 after purchasing an additional 102,133 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $429,000. Finally, Pier Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,606,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Get AZZ alerts:

AZZ Price Performance

AZZ stock opened at $144.96 on Friday. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $92.98 and a one year high of $162.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $147.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.34. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 1.11.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.05. AZZ had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $448.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $434.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AZZ. Wall Street Zen cut AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AZZ from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AZZ from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.25.

View Our Latest Research Report on AZZ

About AZZ

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

• Five stocks we like better than AZZ
• Chevron’s Strong Quarter Shows Why It Still Leads the Energy Sector
• Amazon’s Earnings Beat Shows Why AWS Is Back at the Center of the Bull Case
• Apple’s Record Quarter Could Not Outrun Its Guidance Problem
• McKesson’s Compounding Keeps Adding Up

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AZZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for AZZ Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AZZ and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.