Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 568,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,984 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in AZZ were worth $43,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZZ. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of AZZ by 1.2% during the first quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 14,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in AZZ by 69.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in AZZ by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 3,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of AZZ by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 21,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Price Performance

AZZ stock opened at $81.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 76.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.02. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $43.48 and a one year high of $88.67. 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 (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $403.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. AZZ’s payout ratio is 63.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AZZ

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.