AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and four have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $3,202.71.

Several analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup cut their price objective on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.4 %

AZO stock opened at $3,059.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3,114.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,014.48. AutoZone has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $46.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that AutoZone will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in AutoZone by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,596,000 after purchasing an additional 6,226 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 137.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in AutoZone by 564.2% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,338,000 after purchasing an additional 129,193 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in AutoZone by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,684,000 after buying an additional 3,382 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.