AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,375.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush raised their target price on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, TheStreet cut AutoZone from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Five 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $3,089.61.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $2,962.32 on Friday. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $2,277.88 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $2,988.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2,743.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $24.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AutoZone will post 151.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total value of $13,247,439.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,845,512. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,583 shares of company stock valued at $60,056,012 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, MUFG Americas Holdings Corp grew its holdings in AutoZone by 166.7% in the 3rd quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.