Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,313 Shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 23.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,313 shares during the period. AZZ comprises 1.7% of Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AZZ were worth $337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZZ. FMR LLC lifted its position in AZZ by 4,211.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 365,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,664,000 after purchasing an additional 357,110 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in AZZ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,715,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in AZZ by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,055,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,322,000 after purchasing an additional 106,091 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in AZZ by 37.2% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 282,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,886,000 after acquiring an additional 76,697 shares during the period. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new position in shares of AZZ during the 4th quarter worth $2,082,000. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZZ traded up $1.29 on Wednesday, hitting $76.66. 88,653 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,541. AZZ Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.07 and a 1-year high of $86.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $78.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.23. AZZ had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The firm had revenue of $366.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $351.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AZZ Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

AZZ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. AZZ’s payout ratio is presently 19.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Noble Financial upgraded AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com lowered AZZ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. B. Riley upped their price objective on AZZ from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on AZZ in a research note on Friday, June 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.75.

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.