Argus Issues Positive Forecast for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock Price

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target lifted by Argus from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, 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, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,400.32.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.5 %

AutoZone stock opened at $3,250.00 on Thursday. AutoZone has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,416.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,185.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,109.99. The stock has a market cap of $54.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $32.55 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 154.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,008,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 108.6% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 21,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,784,000 after purchasing an additional 11,037 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 44.9% during the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,286,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AutoZone

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.