AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ - Free Report) by 56.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,949 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in AZZ were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AZZ in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,052,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 298,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $24,419,000 after acquiring an additional 52,281 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in AZZ by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,452 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AZZ by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,749 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in AZZ by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 31,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,610,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. B. Riley increased their target price on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Sidoti upgraded shares of AZZ from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of AZZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Noble Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm initiated coverage on AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.71.

AZZ Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE AZZ traded up $1.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $83.23. 36,694 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 252,959. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $86.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.27. AZZ Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.59 and a 52 week high of $99.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 56.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. AZZ had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The company had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $367.78 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. AZZ's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.95%.

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.