AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $3,724.00.

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,654.02 on Friday. AutoZone has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,531.36 and its 200-day moving average is $3,301.82.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 750.0% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.