Stephens Reaffirms “Equal Weight” Rating for AZEK (NYSE:AZEK)

AZEK (NYSE:AZEK)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by stock analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.56% from the stock’s current price.

AZEK has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of AZEK from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 target price (down from $58.00) on shares of AZEK in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of AZEK from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AZEK from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on AZEK from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.32.

AZEK Price Performance

NYSE AZEK opened at $48.92 on Monday. AZEK has a 12 month low of $35.48 and a 12 month high of $54.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 49.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. AZEK had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 9.85%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AZEK will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jesse G. Singh sold 20,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.08, for a total value of $1,020,980.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 883,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,258,951.20. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,000 shares of company stock worth $2,518,624. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZEK

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AZEK by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,430,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,032,000 after buying an additional 54,725 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in AZEK by 33.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,224,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $665,702,000 after acquiring an additional 3,595,863 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AZEK by 80.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,311,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,431,000 after acquiring an additional 5,499,986 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of AZEK by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,294,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,396,000 after purchasing an additional 429,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of AZEK by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,451,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,729,000 after purchasing an additional 45,774 shares during the last quarter. 97.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AZEK

The AZEK Company Inc engages in the design, manufacturing, and selling of building products for residential, commercial, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: Residential and Commercial. The Residential segment designs and manufactures engineered outdoor living products, such as decking, railing, trim and molding, siding and cladding, pergolas and cabanas, and accessories under the TimberTech, AZEK Exteriors, VERSATEX, ULTRALOX, StruXure, and INTEX brands.