AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $3.28 EPS

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $34.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $30.84 by $3.28, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 64.72% and a net margin of 14.32%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $29.03 EPS.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $2,423.62 on Thursday. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $1,882.18 and a 1-year high of $2,750.00. The company has a market capitalization of $44.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2,574.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,499.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZO. Raymond James increased their price objective on AutoZone from $2,650.00 to $2,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AutoZone from $2,750.00 to $2,975.00 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AutoZone from $2,725.00 to $2,800.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, 51job reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,683.56.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Grant E. Mcgee sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,511.63, for a total value of $3,955,817.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $617,860.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, CEO William C. Rhodes III sold 29,511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,427.27, for a total transaction of $71,631,164.97. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,984,277.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Grant E. Mcgee sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,511.63, for a total value of $3,955,817.25. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $617,860.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,960 shares of company stock valued at $90,128,092 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth $108,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.2% during the first quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 28.2% during the first quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth $154,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth $91,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.12% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Company Profile

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AutoZone, Inc engages in the retail and distribution of automotive replacement parts and accessories. The firm offers ALLDATA, which produces, sells, and maintains diagnostic and repair information software used in the automotive repair industry and E-commerce, which includes direct sales to customers.