AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) is Ballast Asset Management LP's 10th Largest Position

Ballast Asset Management LP cut its position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,480 shares during the quarter. AZZ accounts for about 2.8% of Ballast Asset Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Ballast Asset Management LP owned about 0.22% of AZZ worth $5,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE raised its position in AZZ by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 202.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AZZ by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of AZZ by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,244 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

AZZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of AZZ from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.67.

AZZ Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of AZZ traded down $3.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.07. The stock had a trading volume of 344,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,466. AZZ Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.59 and a 1-year high of $99.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. The firm had revenue of $403.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $394.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. AZZ's payout ratio is 45.95%.

AZZ 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.