AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) CFO Buys $21,253.74 in Stock

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) CFO Jason Crawford bought 622 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $34.17 per share, for a total transaction of $21,253.74. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,785.44. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

AZZ Stock Up 6.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AZZ traded up $4.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $81.20. 615,186 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 256,881. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.89. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.55 and a 52-week high of $86.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.54.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.16. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 6.61%. The firm had revenue of $413.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. AZZ’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. AZZ’s payout ratio is 19.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AZZ shares. StockNews.com lowered AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on AZZ in a research note on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley raised their price target on AZZ from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Noble Financial upgraded AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on AZZ in a report on Friday, June 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in AZZ by 69.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AZZ during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in AZZ during the 1st quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in AZZ by 253.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in North America. It offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries, as well as to fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the transmission and distribution, bridge and highway, petrochemical, and general industrial markets; and original equipment manufacturers.