AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) Sees Large Volume Increase After Analyst Upgrade

The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $57.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. 2,365,247 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 1,751,385 shares.The stock last traded at $48.89 and had previously closed at $48.56.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AZEK. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AZEK from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AZEK from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $53.00 price target (down previously from $58.00) on shares of AZEK in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AZEK from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of AZEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at AZEK

In related news, CEO Jesse G. Singh sold 19,613 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.98, for a total value of $882,192.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 904,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,668,756.96. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,000 shares of company stock worth $2,518,624. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AZEK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of AZEK by 105.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 60,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,845,000 after acquiring an additional 31,193 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in AZEK by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,451,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,729,000 after purchasing an additional 45,774 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of AZEK by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,999,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,564,000 after buying an additional 90,206 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of AZEK during the 3rd quarter worth $3,253,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of AZEK by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 22,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after buying an additional 4,454 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.44% of the company’s stock.

AZEK Stock Up 0.7 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.38, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.95.

AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. AZEK had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 9.85%. As a group, analysts predict that The AZEK Company Inc. will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZEK Company Profile

The AZEK Company Inc engages in the design, manufacturing, and selling of building products for residential, commercial, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: Residential and Commercial. The Residential segment designs and manufactures engineered outdoor living products, such as decking, railing, trim and molding, siding and cladding, pergolas and cabanas, and accessories under the TimberTech, AZEK Exteriors, VERSATEX, ULTRALOX, StruXure, and INTEX brands.