AZZ (NYSE: AZZ) managed to only meet estimates last quarter, but investors hope that it will surpass expectations this quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday. 

AZZ is an electrical equipment and components manufacturer. It operates two distinct business segments, the Electrical and Industrial Products Segment and the Galvanizing Services Segment.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts like AZZ, with four of six analysts rating it a buy. Analysts also like AZZ better than competitor Powell Industries (Nasdaq: POWL) overall. They still rate the stock a moderate buy, but they're a little more optimistic about it now than three months ago.
  • Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $104.6 million in revenue this quarter, a 35% rise from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst is estimating earnings of $0.63 per share. Estimates range from $0.57 to to $0.68.

What our community says:
CAPS All Stars are solidly behind the stock, with 97.7% assigning it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All Stars, with 97.8% giving it an "outperform." Fools are keen on AZZ and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 196 posts in the past 30 days. AZZ has a bullish CAPS rating of five out of five stars that's about on par with the Fool community assessment.

Management:
Revenue has gone up for three straight quarters, and the company has seen net income rise in two straight quarters. In the fourth quarter of the past fiscal year, net income rose 15.8% from the year earlier. In the third quarter, the figure rose 11.1%.

Let's look at how efficiently management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The able shows gross and net margins over the past four quarters. 

Quarter Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1
Gross Margin 27.2% 26.9% 29.2% 30.4%
Net Margin 9.2% 9.4% 9.7% 8.2%
One final thing: If you want to keep tabs on AZZ and its movements, or for more analysis on the company, make sure you add it to your Watchlist.