AZZ (AZZ) ended the recent trading session at $140.71, demonstrating a +1.59% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.02% for the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.21%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.08%.
The electrical equipment maker's shares have seen a decrease of 5.53% over the last month, not keeping up with the Industrial Products sector's loss of 1.66% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.67%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of AZZ in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.8, signifying a 16.13% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $458.04 million, up 9.77% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.93 per share and revenue of $1.8 billion, which would represent changes of +11.95% and +9.19%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for AZZ. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.14% lower within the past month. At present, AZZ boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that AZZ has a Forward P/E ratio of 19.99 right now. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 25.5 of its industry.
The Manufacturing - Electronics industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 81, this industry ranks in the top 33% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow AZZ in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).