AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on AZO. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and set a $2,750.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on AutoZone from $2,425.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Argus boosted their price target on AutoZone from $2,775.00 to $2,920.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AutoZone from $2,740.00 to $2,750.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on AutoZone from $2,721.00 to $2,742.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $2,793.95.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $2,649.25 on Friday. AutoZone has a 12-month low of $2,277.88 and a 12-month high of $2,750.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2,558.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,521.78.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 19th. The company reported $46.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.51 by $1.95. The firm had revenue of $5.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.62 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.66% and a net margin of 14.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $40.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone will post 147.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Albert Saltiel sold 2,245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,595.04, for a total value of $5,825,864.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $1,393,536.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other AutoZone news, VP Albert Saltiel sold 2,245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,595.04, for a total transaction of $5,825,864.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $1,393,536.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 2,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,640.84, for a total value of $7,790,478.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $411,971.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,069 shares of company stock worth $30,651,562. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in AutoZone by 0.3% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,684,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 3.8% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in AutoZone by 30.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,083,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $40,640,000. Finally, Spouting Rock Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 36.7% in the third quarter. Spouting Rock Asset Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 90.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.