DA Davidson Issues Pessimistic Outlook for AutoZone Earnings

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) – Equities research analysts at DA Davidson lowered their FY2025 earnings estimates for AutoZone in a report issued on Wednesday, December 11th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $153.33 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $154.86. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $3,025.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for AutoZone’s current full-year earnings is $154.29 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for AutoZone’s FY2026 earnings at $176.23 EPS.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $32.55 EPS.

AZO has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,360.47.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,369.01 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3,148.28 and a 200-day moving average of $3,061.08. AutoZone has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,416.71. The firm has a market cap of $56.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in AutoZone by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 16,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,979,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $334,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,666,000 after acquiring an additional 14,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.