AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Short Interest Update

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) was the target of a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 829,762 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the February 12th total of 966,184 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 181,720 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 181,720 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

AZZ Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AZZ traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $123.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 182,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,228. AZZ has a one year low of $70.90 and a one year high of $141.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.11.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 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 company had revenue of $425.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.200 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is 7.52%.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total value of $3,182,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 158,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,134,986.78. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total transaction of $397,528.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,281 shares of company stock worth $4,239,080. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AZZ by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,783,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $191,174,000 after purchasing an additional 15,744 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,991 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,118,000 after buying an additional 32,001 shares during the period. Widmann Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ in the 4th quarter valued at about $307,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,293 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 target price on shares of AZZ in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on shares of AZZ in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.00.

About AZZ

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.