AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) Downgraded by Baird R W to “Hold”

Baird R W lowered shares of AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AZEK. Citigroup raised shares of AZEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of AZEK in a research report on Monday. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AZEK in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AZEK from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AZEK from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.93.

AZEK Trading Up 17.6 %

AZEK stock opened at $48.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.95. AZEK has a 1 year low of $35.48 and a 1 year high of $54.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.56.

AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. AZEK had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 9.85%. On average, research analysts predict that AZEK will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jesse G. Singh sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.03, for a total value of $615,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 868,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,645,427.95. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 55,000 shares of company stock worth $2,518,624. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AZEK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZEK. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of AZEK by 80.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,311,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $584,431,000 after buying an additional 5,499,986 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in AZEK by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,224,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $665,702,000 after acquiring an additional 3,595,863 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AZEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $94,987,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of AZEK by 493.6% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,681,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of AZEK by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,957,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,903,000 after purchasing an additional 823,588 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.44% of the company’s stock.

About AZEK

The AZEK Company Inc engages in the design, manufacturing, and selling of building products for residential, commercial, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: Residential and Commercial. The Residential segment designs and manufactures engineered outdoor living products, such as decking, railing, trim and molding, siding and cladding, pergolas and cabanas, and accessories under the TimberTech, AZEK Exteriors, VERSATEX, ULTRALOX, StruXure, and INTEX brands.