1620 Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $72,000 in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AZZ during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in AZZ by 69.4% during 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. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AZZ by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the first quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in AZZ in the 1st quarter worth $92,000. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

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

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZZ opened at $79.20 on Friday. AZZ Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.48 and a 1 year high of $88.67. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.78. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 74.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $413.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.25 million. AZZ had a net margin of 7.22% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley upped their price objective on AZZ from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Noble Financial raised shares of AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on AZZ in a research note on Friday, June 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.80.

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.