AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

The AZEK Company Inc. (NYSE:AZEK) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $57.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. 2,365,247 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 1,751,385 shares.The stock last traded at $48.89 and had previously closed at $48.56.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of AZEK from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AZEK from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased their price target on AZEK from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of AZEK in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on AZEK from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.32.

Insider Activity at AZEK

In other news, CEO Jesse G. Singh sold 20,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.08, for a total transaction of $1,020,980.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 883,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,258,951.20. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 55,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,518,624 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AZEK

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AZEK. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AZEK during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. FIL Ltd bought a new position in AZEK in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in AZEK by 623.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 687 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in AZEK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in AZEK by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 851 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.44% of the company’s stock.

AZEK Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.45, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

AZEK (NYSE:AZEK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. AZEK had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 9.85%. On average, analysts expect that The AZEK Company Inc. will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

AZEK Company Profile

The AZEK Company Inc engages in the design, manufacturing, and selling of building products for residential, commercial, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments: Residential and Commercial. The Residential segment designs and manufactures engineered outdoor living products, such as decking, railing, trim and molding, siding and cladding, pergolas and cabanas, and accessories under the TimberTech, AZEK Exteriors, VERSATEX, ULTRALOX, StruXure, and INTEX brands.