Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook of AutoZone Q3 Earnings

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for shares of AutoZone in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 17th. Zacks Research analyst N. Saigal now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $37.45 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $38.32. The consensus estimate for AutoZone’s current full-year earnings is $152.94 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for AutoZone’s FY2025 earnings at $152.39 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $37.00 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $35.73 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $39.62 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $169.91 EPS.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,569.96 on Wednesday. The stock 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. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,704.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $3,426.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,254.98.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,871 shares of company stock worth $6,720,811 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.