AZZ Inc. $AZZ Position Reduced by Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,415 shares during the period. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.39% of AZZ worth $12,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 2.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,277,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $357,649,000 after buying an additional 83,983 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in AZZ by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,961,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $214,031,000 after acquiring an additional 157,529 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AZZ by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,981,000 after acquiring an additional 9,326 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 111.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 376,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,037,000 after purchasing an additional 198,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of AZZ by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 344,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,642,000 after purchasing an additional 57,334 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total transaction of $3,182,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 158,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,134,986.78. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total value of $397,528.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,042,728. The trade was 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 33,281 shares of company stock worth $4,239,080 in the last quarter. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AZZ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 objective on AZZ in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 target price on shares of AZZ in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.00.

AZZ Stock Performance

AZZ stock opened at $124.03 on Friday. AZZ Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.90 and a fifty-two week high of $141.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.21. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. AZZ had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $425.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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, equities research analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

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

AZZ Dividend Announcement

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

AZZ Company 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.