Moody National Bank Trust Division Cuts Position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Moody National Bank Trust Division lessened its position in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,217 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division owned about 0.07% of AZZ worth $1,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AZZ during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,162,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in AZZ by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,055,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,322,000 after buying an additional 106,091 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in AZZ by 4,211.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 365,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,664,000 after buying an additional 357,110 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in AZZ by 4,165.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 410,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,694,000 after buying an additional 400,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new position in AZZ during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,082,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Price Performance

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $79.12 on Thursday. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.72 and a 52-week high of $86.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.03.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $366.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $351.67 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 6.61%. AZZ’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 16th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.