Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Stake in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 28,051 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.43% of AZZ worth $14,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in AZZ by 206.7% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AZZ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in AZZ in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AZZ by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AZZ by 1,145.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $3,182,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 158,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,134,986.78. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 22,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,042,728. This represents a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 33,281 shares of company stock valued at $4,239,080 over the last quarter. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AZZ Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of AZZ opened at $140.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.66. AZZ Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.90 and a fifty-two week high of $141.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $118.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.17. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.13.

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

AZZ declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. AZZ’s payout ratio is presently 7.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price objective on AZZ in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.00.

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.