Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 13,200 AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in AZZ by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AZZ by 184.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of AZZ by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AZZ Price Performance

AZZ opened at $150.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $144.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.72. AZZ Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.98 and a 12-month high of $162.20.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm had revenue of $385.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.500-7.000 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.62%.

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.