AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,248,757 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 577% from the previous session’s volume of 184,435 shares.The stock last traded at $71.14 and had previously closed at $73.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. B. Riley raised their price target on AZZ from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Noble Financial cut shares of AZZ from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

AZZ Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.28.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $366.50 million for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th. AZZ’s payout ratio is presently 19.83%.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AZZ during the first quarter worth $32,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 131.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at about $197,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AZZ in the third quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ during the first quarter worth about $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

About AZZ

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in the United States, Canada, Brazil, China, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, and India. The company operates through AZZ Metal Coatings and AZZ Precoat Metals segments. The AZZ Metal Coatings segment offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries.