AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $3,086.61.

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price target on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. DA Davidson increased their price target on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.9 %

AZO stock opened at $2,988.51 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,020.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2,768.74. AutoZone has a twelve month low of $2,277.88 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market cap of $51.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $24.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that AutoZone will post 152.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total value of $13,247,439.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,845,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 30.5% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,736,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 8.1% in the first quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% in the first quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 4,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,512,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth approximately $1,447,000. Finally, Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth approximately $205,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.