AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Short Interest Up 9.0% in December

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 363,400 shares, an increase of 9.0% from the December 15th total of 333,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 129,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Argus upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AutoZone in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,221.06 on Tuesday. AutoZone has a one year low of $2,658.18 and a one year high of $3,416.71. The firm has a market cap of $54.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3,222.90 and its 200-day moving average is $3,136.66.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results 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 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $32.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 153.09 EPS for the current 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.