First Trust Advisors LP Buys 14,486 Shares of AZZ Inc. $AZZ

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 28.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,486 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in AZZ were worth $8,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,357,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,843,000 after purchasing an additional 80,099 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in AZZ by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,009,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,412,000 after buying an additional 48,565 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in AZZ by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 15,744 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in AZZ by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,182,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,706,000 after buying an additional 49,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in AZZ by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 771,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,674,000 after buying an additional 51,463 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AZZ Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $144.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.34. AZZ Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.98 and a 12-month high of $162.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $448.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $434.58 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 11.83%.The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AZZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AZZ from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, April 27th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of AZZ from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.25.

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.