AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) PT Raised to $3,278.00 at Evercore ISI

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $3,250.00 to $3,278.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.57% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AZO. Mizuho lowered their target price on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,038.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,465.00 to $3,340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,105.88.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $2,991.70 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2,893.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2,852.68. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $2,375.35 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.67 by $1.02. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 54.58% and a net margin of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $34.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 151.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jenna M. Bedsole acquired 36 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2,757.10 per share, for a total transaction of $99,255.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 36 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,255.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Jenna M. Bedsole bought 36 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2,757.10 per share, for a total transaction of $99,255.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 36 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,255.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 232,194.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,891,963,000 after purchasing an additional 731,413 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in AutoZone by 1.3% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 441,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,650 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in AutoZone by 1.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,596,000 after purchasing an additional 6,226 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in AutoZone by 111.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,379,000 after purchasing an additional 176,623 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $678,350,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.