AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Short Interest Update

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 527,200 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the December 31st total of 497,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 187,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Institutional Trading of AZZ

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ in the second quarter worth about $1,345,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AZZ in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,469,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in AZZ by 1,822.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 72,650 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,612,000 after acquiring an additional 68,871 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 22.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,972 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the second quarter valued at $215,000. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AZZ Trading Up 3.2 %

NYSE:AZZ traded up $2.93 on Thursday, hitting $95.48. 647,030 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 196,876. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 64.51, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.30. AZZ has a fifty-two week low of $63.85 and a fifty-two week high of $97.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.55 and a 200-day moving average of $82.97.

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

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of AZZ from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.80.

About AZZ

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.