AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $99.49 and last traded at $99.17, with a volume of 187724 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $97.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. 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 research report on Friday, December 6th. Roth Capital raised shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price target on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.67.

AZZ Trading Down 3.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $88.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.32. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $403.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $394.30 million. AZZ had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current 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 $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AZZ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 3,790.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 463 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 202.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 51.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 2,150.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Company 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.