AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Receives $3,384.89 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $3,384.89.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,241.62 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,183.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,101.18. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $2,510.00 and a 1-year high of $3,416.71. The company has a market cap of $54.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. AutoZone’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $32.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 154.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 18.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in AutoZone by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Verde Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,137,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 592.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after buying an additional 7,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 44.9% during the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,286,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

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.