AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Receives $4,271.25 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned 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 $4,279.5833.

AZO has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,234.00 to $4,274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on AutoZone from $4,775.00 to $4,200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on AutoZone from $4,850.00 to $4,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on AutoZone from $4,600.00 to $4,400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,656.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.41. AutoZone has a twelve month low of $3,210.72 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,587.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,833.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $32.69 by ($1.65). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 65.38% and a net margin of 12.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $32.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, Director Brian Hannasch acquired 147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3,393.09 per share, with a total value of $498,784.23. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,264,152.58. The trade was a 18.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 5,910 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $21,867,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,719,900. This represents a 69.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 347 shares of company stock valued at $1,179,256 and sold 9,447 shares valued at $34,179,923. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,711,912,000 after purchasing an additional 26,544 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 371,123.0% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,472,724,000 after purchasing an additional 935,230 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 714,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,650,870,000 after buying an additional 11,088 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 492,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,323,000 after acquiring an additional 74,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 444,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,649,228,000 after purchasing an additional 8,187 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.