AZZ (AZZ) closed the most recent trading day at $115.00, moving -1.24% from the previous trading session. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.32%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.16%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.53%.
Shares of the electrical equipment maker witnessed a gain of 4.28% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Industrial Products sector with its loss of 1.49%, and the S&P 500's gain of 1.52%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of AZZ in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.56, reflecting a 13.87% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $430.77 million, showing a 5.32% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.01 per share and a revenue of $1.67 billion, representing changes of +15.58% and +6.08%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for AZZ should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Currently, AZZ is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, AZZ is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 19.38. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 24.05.
The Manufacturing - Electronics industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 59, putting it in the top 24% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
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AZZ Inc. (AZZ): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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