AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Board Declares Share Buyback Program

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZO. UBS Group set a $4,800.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Mizuho cut their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $4,300.00 price objective (up from $4,150.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AutoZone from $3,900.00 to $3,600.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4,325.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,040.87.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO traded up $22.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $3,128.25. 622,031 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,044. The company has a market cap of $51.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.35. AutoZone has a 52-week low of $2,928.11 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3,355.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,500.15.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $36.22 by $1.85. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 12.40%.The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $35.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone will post 150.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total value of $173,936.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,837 shares in the company, valued at $16,826,568.64. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Hannasch bought 165 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2,987.00 per share, for a total transaction of $492,855.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,153. This trade represents a 15.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Company Profile

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.