AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Short Interest Up 6.0% in December

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 527,200 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the December 15th total of 497,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 187,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZZ traded up $0.36 on Monday, reaching $87.61. 96,028 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 161,287. The business’s 50-day moving average is $87.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. AZZ has a fifty-two week low of $57.16 and a fifty-two week high of $97.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.20, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.30.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. AZZ’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AZZ will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AZZ

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. 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. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in AZZ during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. CWM LLC grew its position in AZZ by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ in the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ in the second quarter valued at approximately $100,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.80.

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.