Aberdeen Group plc Purchases Shares of 171,945 AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 171,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,429,000. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.58% of AZZ at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in AZZ by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new position in AZZ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $412,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AZZ by 78.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 232,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,920,000 after buying an additional 102,133 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter worth $2,120,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter worth $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Ferguson sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.29, for a total value of $3,182,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 158,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,134,986.78. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 2,923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,042,728. This trade represents a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,281 shares of company stock worth $4,239,080. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AZZ. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of AZZ from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $132.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Noble Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AZZ in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 price target on shares of AZZ in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AZZ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AZZ presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.00.

AZZ Trading Up 0.7%

AZZ stock opened at $127.33 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.90 and a twelve month high of $141.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.93.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. AZZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.900-6.200 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

AZZ announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.