Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Trims Stock Position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. cut its position in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 62.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26,452 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.05% of AZZ worth $1,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZZ. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 554.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 251,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,629,000 after acquiring an additional 213,355 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 352,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,854,000 after acquiring an additional 64,023 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 2,150.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the period. Finally, Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,500,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AZZ. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of AZZ from $99.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of AZZ to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sidoti upgraded shares of AZZ from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $101.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.71.

AZZ Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AZZ opened at $94.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 63.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. AZZ Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.59 and a twelve month high of $99.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.32.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $351.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.78 million. AZZ had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 16.99%. On average, equities analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 18,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.91, for a total transaction of $1,694,893.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 192,607 shares in the company, valued at $17,317,295.37. This represents a 8.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AZZ Company Profile

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.