AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Short Interest Update

AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) experienced a notable reduction in short interest during October. As of October 15th, the short interest stood at 530,800 shares, which is a decrease of 31.3% from the 772,200 shares reported on September 30th. With an average daily trading volume of 171,300 shares, the current days-to-cover ratio is 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

• AZZ Stock Gains Momentum: Analysts Forecast 25% Upside From Here

Several research entities have recently provided insights on AZZ. On July 23rd, Baird R W raised its rating for AZZ to a "hold". Wolfe Research began its coverage of AZZ on July 31st, assigning it a "peer perform" rating. Robert W. Baird also initiated coverage on July 23rd, giving AZZ a "neutral" rating and setting a $90.00 target price. Additionally, on July 17th, B. Riley increased its price target from $89.00 to $99.00 while rating the stock as a "buy". Currently, four analysts suggest a hold rating, while another four recommend buying the stock. According to MarketBeat data, AZZ boasts a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $95.80.

View Our Latest Analysis on AZZ

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

• This Industrial Stock Signals a Bullish Move for Trend Followers

Several hedge funds have adjusted their stakes in AZZ recently. CWM LLC enhanced its holdings in AZZ by 69.4% during Q2, bringing its total to 459 shares valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares. Claro Advisors LLC raised its position in AZZ by 7.7% during the same quarter, owning 3,298 shares worth $255,000 after an additional purchase of 236 shares. Similarly, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake by 38.6% in Q2, now owning 951 shares valued at $73,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings by 1.3% in Q1, now holding 21,947 shares worth $1,697,000 after acquiring 284 more shares. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in AZZ by 7.4%, owning 5,010 shares valued at $387,000. Currently, institutional investors own 90.93% of AZZ stock.

AZZ Price Performance

On Friday, AZZ shares rose by $0.35 to reach $76.52, with a trading volume of 65,564 shares compared to an average of 233,621. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 71.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18, and a beta of 1.23. The 50-day moving average price sits at $79.52 and the 200-day moving average is at $78.79. The current ratio is 1.89, quick ratio is 1.28, and the debt-to-equity ratio is 1.36. Over the past year, AZZ hit a low of $45.62 and a high of $88.67.

• Mixed Results Sends AZZ, Inc Lower

On October 9th, AZZ reported its quarterly earnings, revealing $1.37 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.32 by $0.05. The company had quarterly revenue of $409.01 million, slightly less than the anticipated $409.50 million. AZZ achieved a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 7.63%, with revenue increasing by 2.6% year-over-year, compared to $1.27 earnings per share in the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast AZZ will report $4.95 earnings per share for this fiscal year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company has also announced a quarterly dividend set to be paid on November 1st. Shareholders who are on record by October 18th will receive a dividend of $0.17. This translates to an annualized dividend of $0.68, yielding 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is also October 18th, and AZZ's current dividend payout ratio (DPR) stands at 63.55%.

AZZ Company Profile

AZZ Inc. specializes in hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating services across North America. The company provides metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating. Their services cater to steel fabrication and various industries, alongside fabricators and manufacturers serving the transmission and distribution, bridge and highway, petrochemical, and general industrial markets, as well as original equipment manufacturers.

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This news alert was produced using automated technology and financial data for timely reporting. For queries regarding this article, please direct them to the publication's editorial team.

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