Citigroup Cuts AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Price Target to $3,500.00

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Citigroup from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.59% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,900.00 to $3,350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,394.00 to $3,341.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,169.38.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded up $64.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3,108.50. The company had a trading volume of 80,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,220. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a 12 month low of $2,375.35 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3,109.08 and its 200 day moving average is $3,009.36.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $46.46 earnings per share. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone will post 151.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZO. Boston Partners lifted its stake in AutoZone by 1.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,596,000 after buying an additional 6,226 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 243,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,780,000 after purchasing an additional 58,989 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 212,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,296,000 after purchasing an additional 22,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 203,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,641,000 after buying an additional 7,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

About AutoZone

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.