Hodges Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Hodges Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 37.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,535 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AZZ were worth $1,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AZZ by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,357,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $359,843,000 after purchasing an additional 80,099 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,009,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,412,000 after buying an additional 48,565 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,783,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $191,174,000 after buying an additional 15,744 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in AZZ by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,182,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,706,000 after buying an additional 49,509 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in AZZ by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 771,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,674,000 after buying an additional 51,463 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AZZ Price Performance

NYSE:AZZ opened at $152.48 on Tuesday. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.98 and a 52-week high of $162.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $145.55 and a 200 day moving average of $132.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.11.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.15. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 19.23%.The business had revenue of $385.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.500-7.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. AZZ’s payout ratio is 7.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZZ. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on AZZ from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AZZ currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.00.

AZZ Profile

AZZ Inc, incorporated in 1956 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading provider of galvanizing and metal finishing solutions alongside electrical equipment and services. The company supports a diverse range of industries—such as energy, infrastructure, heavy equipment and general industrial markets—by delivering corrosion protection and high-performance electrical solutions designed for demanding environments.

AZZ operates two primary business segments. The Global Coatings & Services segment offers hot-dip galvanizing, metal finishing, painting, powder coating and related value-added services to steel fabricators and original equipment manufacturers.