AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 708,200 shares, a decrease of 13.2% from the July 15th total of 816,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 268,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

AZZ Stock Up 2.5 %

AZZ stock traded up $2.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $81.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 120,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,155. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.28. AZZ has a twelve month low of $43.48 and a twelve month high of $88.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.71, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $413.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.25 million. AZZ had a net margin of 7.22% and a return on equity of 17.08%. AZZ’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AZZ will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. AZZ’s payout ratio is 63.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total value of $1,233,270.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total transaction of $1,233,270.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $27,638.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,121.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 1,511 shares of company stock valued at $52,794 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AZZ in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in AZZ by 69.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in AZZ in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in AZZ in the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AZZ in the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,000. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of AZZ from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Friday, June 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Noble Financial raised shares of AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.80.

AZZ Company 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.