Zacks Research Brokers Lift Earnings Estimates for AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q4 2025 EPS estimates for AutoZone in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 17th. Zacks Research analyst N. Saigal now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $54.13 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $52.95. The consensus estimate for AutoZone’s current full-year earnings is $152.94 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for AutoZone’s Q4 2026 earnings at $57.56 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $40.40 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $38.99 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $187.52 EPS.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,569.96 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3,426.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,254.98. AutoZone has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,704.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 3,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,852,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 7,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,898,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,179,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,871 shares of company stock worth $6,720,811 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.