Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Takes Position in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL bought a new position in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 16,194 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,767,000. AZZ makes up 1.6% of Chesapeake Capital Corp IL’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AZZ in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AZZ during the third quarter worth $46,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 56.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 40.1% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AZZ by 1,145.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AZZ news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total value of $3,182,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 158,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,134,986.78. This trade represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of AZZ stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total transaction of $397,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,042,728. This trade represents a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 33,281 shares of company stock worth $4,239,080 in the last quarter. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price target on AZZ in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded AZZ from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AZZ currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.00.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $124.03 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $127.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.94. AZZ Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.90 and a 1-year high of $141.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 1.11.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. AZZ had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 19.89%.The business had revenue of $425.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.200 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. AZZ’s payout ratio is currently 7.52%.

AZZ Profile

AZZ Inc, incorporated in 1956 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading provider of galvanizing and metal finishing solutions alongside electrical equipment and services. The company supports a diverse range of industries—such as energy, infrastructure, heavy equipment and general industrial markets—by delivering corrosion protection and high-performance electrical solutions designed for demanding environments.

AZZ operates two primary business segments. The Global Coatings & Services segment offers hot-dip galvanizing, metal finishing, painting, powder coating and related value-added services to steel fabricators and original equipment manufacturers.