AZZ (AZZ) closed the most recent trading day at $141.50, moving +2.61% from the previous trading session. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.61% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.23%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.19%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the electrical equipment maker had lost 4.75% lagged the Industrial Products sector's loss of 2.44% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.44%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of AZZ in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.63, down 8.43% from the prior-year quarter. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $435.55 million, indicating a 3.22% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.79 per share and a revenue of $1.75 billion, representing changes of +9.69% and +5.98%, respectively, from the prior year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for AZZ. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. AZZ is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In the context of valuation, AZZ is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 20.32. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 22.63.
The Manufacturing - Electronics industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 98, placing it within the top 41% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days
Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."
Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention.
See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
AZZ Inc. (AZZ): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).