Meeder Asset Management Inc. Takes $214,000 Position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of AZZ by 39.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AZZ by 202.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AZZ by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in AZZ by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of AZZ during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm began coverage on AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley raised their price target on AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Capital upgraded AZZ to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of AZZ from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.67.

AZZ Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:AZZ opened at $83.77 on Tuesday. 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 quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.41. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 56.60, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.27.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $403.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.