AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 5,318,542 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 130% from the previous session’s volume of 2,313,690 shares.The stock last traded at $50.30 and had previously closed at $49.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZEK. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of AZEK from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AZEK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $51.50 price target (down from $61.00) on shares of AZEK in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of AZEK in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of AZEK from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.93.

AZEK Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 50.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.63.

AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $452.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.75 million. AZEK had a net margin of 9.85% and a return on equity of 13.47%. AZEK’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The AZEK Company Inc. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jesse G. Singh sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total value of $1,028,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 852,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,832,121. This represents a 2.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZEK

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in AZEK by 94.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in AZEK by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,169,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,519,000 after purchasing an additional 24,249 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AZEK during the 4th quarter valued at $717,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AZEK during the 4th quarter valued at $19,436,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AZEK by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in 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.