AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 452,500 shares, a decline of 5.6% from the May 15th total of 479,400 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 145,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jenna M. Bedsole purchased 36 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $2,757.10 per share, with a total value of $99,255.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 36 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,255.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,465.00 to $3,340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,104.13.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $2,968.75 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2,892.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,849.30. AutoZone has a 52 week low of $2,375.35 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.67 by $1.02. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $34.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 151.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Company Profile

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.