AZZ Incorporated Too Rich For Analyst's Stomach

AZZ Incorporated

recent acquisition of six galvanizing plants spurred an analyst Thursday to boost his target on the company by nearly 6 percent because of resulting wider opportunities. But the analyst, Brent Thielman of D.A. Davison, downgraded the galvanizing and engineering services company to Neutral, from Buy, citing its recent stock price gains. Thielman's new target is $55. AZZ closed Thursday at $51.79, down nearly 2.5 percent. Markets for Fort Worth, Texas-based include electricity generation, industrial businesses and oil refining. Thielman said he's "somewhat cautious" on those end markets as owners "recalibrate their plans for near-term investments." AZZ shares gained about 10 percent on news last week that it had acquired the U.S. Galvanizing unit of Trinity Industries, Inc.

. http://www.azz.com/sites/default/files/documents/AZZ%20-%20US%20Galvanizing%20Acquistion%20from%20Trinity%20Inds.%20-%20060515.pdf Azz said the deal will boost earnings, although it left its most recent forecast intact for 2016 profits of between $2.75 and $3.25 a share, on revenue of $875 million to $925 million. http://www.azz.com/sites/default/files/documents/AZZ%20Q4%20FY2015%20EARNINGS%20RELEASE%20FINAL%20042215.pdf Purchase price wasn't immediately disclosed, and Trinity said the sale won't have a material impact on its results. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150605005415/en/Trinity-Industries-Announces-Divestiture-Assets-U.S.-Galvanizing#.VXnomxNViko The six acquired plants in the Gulf Coast region produced $34 million in revenue for the 12 months ended March 31. AZZ posted revenue last year of about $861.7 million. Thielman said he's optimistic about AZZ's prospects but downgraded the shares on valuation "in the context of near-term expectations."