AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $2,762.02 and last traded at $2,768.6580, with a volume of 36158 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $2,830.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AutoZone from an “overweight” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Roth Capital cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,023.00 to $3,850.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $3,700.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $3,500.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, August 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,710.36.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.7%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2,969.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,170.39. The firm has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.34.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 22nd. The company reported $56.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $55.51. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 90.08% and a net margin of 12.65%.The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $48.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 173.47 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP Dennis LeRiche sold 1,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total value of $4,510,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,367,100. This trade represents a 76.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowroot Family Office LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowroot Family Office LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.4% in the first quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,574,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Company Profile

AutoZone, Inc is a specialty retailer of automotive replacement parts, accessories and maintenance products. The company serves do-it-yourself customers as well as professional automotive repair shops, offering products such as batteries, brakes, filters, engine components, tools, fluids and other vehicle parts.

In addition to its retail stores, AutoZone provides commercial sales and delivery services for professional repair businesses. The company also operates ALLDATA, which offers automotive diagnostic, repair and shop-management software and information services to repair professionals.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, AutoZone operates primarily in the United States, with additional stores and operations in Mexico and Brazil.