AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3,086.61.

AZO has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays increased their target price on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 target price for the company.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AZO. LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 27,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 42,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, Compound Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Compound Global Advisors LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,905,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $2,985.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3,005.06 and a 200-day moving average of $2,757.38. AutoZone has a 52 week low of $2,277.88 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37.

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

About AutoZone

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.