Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 12,226 Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 25.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,226 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.20% of AZZ worth $4,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in AZZ by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,726,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,750,000 after buying an additional 28,609 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 4.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,147,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,646,000 after acquiring an additional 53,188 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 10.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 269,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,788,000 after acquiring an additional 25,714 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 4th quarter worth about $9,715,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 81,999.5% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 153,526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,860,000 after purchasing an additional 153,339 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In related news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total transaction of $1,233,270.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $27,638.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,121.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total value of $1,233,270.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 1,511 shares of company stock worth $52,794 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Baird R W raised shares of AZZ to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. B. Riley raised their price objective on AZZ from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on AZZ in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Noble Financial upgraded shares of AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.80.

AZZ Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $82.29 on Friday. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.48 and a 52-week high of $88.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.91, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.24.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.16. AZZ had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 7.22%. The firm had revenue of $413.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. AZZ’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ 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.