AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Citigroup from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.57% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,339.25.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,345.71 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,142.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,059.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a 52-week low of $2,510.00 and a 52-week high of $3,416.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $32.55 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 155.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’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 transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after acquiring an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,204,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,684,000 after purchasing an additional 3,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at approximately $424,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently 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.