Horizon Investment Services LLC Invests $465,000 in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Horizon Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 6,014 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AZZ in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in AZZ by 69.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ in the 2nd quarter worth $72,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AZZ by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ during the first quarter valued at about $77,000. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other AZZ news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,858,121.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other AZZ news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was 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 owns 34,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,858,121.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $1,695,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 1,511 shares of company stock valued at $52,794. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AZZ Price Performance

AZZ opened at $75.49 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $79.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.63. AZZ Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.48 and a fifty-two week high of $88.67. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.24.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $413.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Noble Financial upgraded AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on AZZ in a research note on Friday, June 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Baird R W upgraded 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.80.

AZZ Company 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.