Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 102,133 Shares of AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 78.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 232,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 102,133 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.78% of AZZ worth $24,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its stake in shares of AZZ by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 18,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AZZ by 40.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in AZZ by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in AZZ by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in AZZ by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 4,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price objective on shares of AZZ in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of AZZ from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AZZ has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.00.

AZZ Stock Performance

NYSE AZZ opened at $126.48 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.84. AZZ Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.90 and a 12-month high of $141.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $425.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, equities analysts forecast that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.52%.

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

Insider Activity at AZZ

In other AZZ news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total transaction of $3,182,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 158,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,134,986.78. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,042,728. This trade represents a 11.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 33,281 shares of company stock worth $4,239,080 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

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.