AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $3.33 EPS

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $29.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $25.70 by $3.33, RTT News reports. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 109.21% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $26.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

NYSE AZO opened at $1,805.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $35.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.90. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $1,367.96 and a 1-year high of $2,267.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2,038.57 and a 200-day moving average of $1,976.53.

In other AutoZone news, EVP Philip B. Daniele sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,900.00, for a total transaction of $190,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Philip B. Daniele sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,950.00, for a total value of $390,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,682 shares of company stock valued at $16,146,334 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in AutoZone by 368.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 411,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,242,000 after purchasing an additional 323,536 shares during the last quarter. Cartenna Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth about $19,424,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in AutoZone by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 26,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,594,000 after buying an additional 8,804 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 30,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,534,000 after buying an additional 4,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Vance Management boosted its position in AutoZone by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 14,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,691,000 after buying an additional 4,021 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.97% of the company’s stock.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZO. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,210.00 to $2,250.00 in a research note on Friday, May 13th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,100.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,175.00 to $2,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AutoZone from $2,050.00 to $2,125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $2,075.11.

About AutoZone (Get Rating)

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company offers 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. Its products include A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, bearings, belts and hoses, calipers, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition and lighting products, mufflers, radiators, starters and alternators, thermostats, and water pumps, as well as tire repairs.

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