Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Position in AZZ Inc. $AZZ

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 3,308.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 12,639 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in AZZ were worth $1,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AZZ by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,357,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,843,000 after purchasing an additional 80,099 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of AZZ by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,009,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,412,000 after buying an additional 48,565 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in AZZ by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,783,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $191,174,000 after acquiring an additional 15,744 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of AZZ by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,182,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,706,000 after purchasing an additional 49,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in AZZ by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 771,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,674,000 after buying an additional 51,463 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AZZ. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of AZZ from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AZZ from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on AZZ from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of AZZ from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AZZ has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.25.

AZZ Stock Up 1.6%

AZZ opened at $153.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.92. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36 and a beta of 1.11. AZZ Inc. has a one year low of $92.98 and a one year high of $162.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $146.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.15.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.05. AZZ had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $448.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $434.58 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. AZZ has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.750-7.150 EPS. Analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from AZZ’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. AZZ’s dividend payout ratio is 14.63%.

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.