Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 48,056 Shares of AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 211,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 48,056 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AZZ were worth $23,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZZ. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 9.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,768,000 after acquiring an additional 14,430 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of AZZ during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,032,000. Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new stake in AZZ during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,365,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in AZZ in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,671,000. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in AZZ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,000,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective on shares of AZZ in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of AZZ from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on shares of AZZ in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AZZ presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

AZZ Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZZ traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $122.41. 23,923 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 172,065. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $127.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.88. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.11. AZZ Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.90 and a 12-month high of $141.18.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. AZZ had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $425.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. AZZ’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. AZZ’s payout ratio is currently 7.52%.

AZZ announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AZZ

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total value of $3,182,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 158,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,134,986.78. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total value of $397,528.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,042,728. The trade was a 11.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 33,281 shares of company stock valued at $4,239,080 over the last quarter. 1.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AZZ Company Profile

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.