AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Rating Reiterated by Wedbush

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $3,400.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush’s price target points to a potential upside of 17.20% from the stock’s previous close.

AZO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,115.24.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $2,900.99 on Wednesday. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $2,277.88 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,039.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2,814.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $24.64 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AutoZone will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LGT Capital Partners LTD. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 27,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,458,000 after buying an additional 6,630 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $145,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,398,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,506,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is 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.