Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Buys Shares of 5,423 AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 184.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,920 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,240,000 after buying an additional 9,671 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at $5,052,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in AZZ by 202.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in AZZ by 39.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company's stock.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZZ traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $86.63. The stock had a trading volume of 345,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.83. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 58.53, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.27. AZZ Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.59 and a twelve month high of $99.49.

Remove Ads

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $403.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.30 million. AZZ had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Research 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. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. AZZ's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AZZ shares. B. Riley lifted their price objective on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on AZZ from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Noble Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm started coverage on AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.67.

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.