AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Receives $4,538.21 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $4,538.2083.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,850.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4,750.00 price objective (down previously from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in AutoZone by 10.1% during the first quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,267,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN raised its stake in AutoZone by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN now owns 7,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,591,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 98.3% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,161,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth $545,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $4,244.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4,109.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,832.21. AutoZone has a 52 week low of $2,980.10 and a 52 week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $51.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.