Smith Group Asset Management LLC Takes Position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,212 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $509,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in AZZ by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,971 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,345,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,469,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 1,822.5% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of AZZ by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,972 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AZZ Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of AZZ traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $87.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,334. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.07 and a 200 day moving average of $82.78. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.30. AZZ Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.43 and a 1 year high of $97.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. AZZ had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 7.94%. The business had revenue of $403.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.30 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. AZZ's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. AZZ's payout ratio is 45.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on AZZ from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.