Emerald Investment Advisers LLC Purchases Shares of 38,273 AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Emerald Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 38,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,934,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 92.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in AZZ in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in AZZ in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in AZZ in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AZZ by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AZZ

In related news, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 2,677 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.07, for a total transaction of $401,737.39. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 35,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,252,450. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey Vellines sold 4,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.55, for a total value of $647,981.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $281,610.70. This represents a 69.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded AZZ from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on AZZ from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AZZ currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.25.

AZZ Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $141.30 on Friday. AZZ Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.98 and a 12-month high of $162.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $448.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $434.58 million. AZZ had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This is an increase from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.63%.

About AZZ

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.