AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Given New $3,225.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price objective increased by Guggenheim from $3,150.00 to $3,225.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,250.00 to $3,278.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,024.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,200.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $3,112.88.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $2,933.00 on Wednesday. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,375.35 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $2,895.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,859.68.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $34.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 151.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Jenna M. Bedsole bought 36 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2,757.10 per share, with a total value of $99,255.60. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 36 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,255.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Paralel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the third quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.1% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 9,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,431,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 49.1% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 36.5% during the third quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 158.8% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,918,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently 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.