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

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2,652.76.

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on AutoZone from $2,260.00 to $2,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Bank of America cut AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on AutoZone from $2,563.00 to $2,899.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Wedbush increased their price target on AutoZone from $2,350.00 to $2,600.00 in a research note on Monday, November 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on AutoZone from $2,520.00 to $2,782.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,441.21, for a total transaction of $336,886.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,188,714.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, CEO William C. Rhodes III sold 29,511 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,427.27, for a total transaction of $71,631,164.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,984,277.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 138 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,441.21, for a total value of $336,886.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,188,714.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,872 shares of company stock valued at $94,603,027. 2.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 184.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,316,000. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,775,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 162.4% in the 3rd quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 1,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. 91.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $2,413.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.69. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $1,703.32 and a 1-year high of $2,610.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2,454.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,383.32.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The company reported $24.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $21.33 by $3.31. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 64.72% and a net margin of 14.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $22.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 127.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Company Profile

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AutoZone, Inc engages in the retail and distribution of automotive replacement parts and accessories. The firm offers ALLDATA, which produces, sells, and maintains diagnostic and repair information software used in the automotive repair industry and E-commerce, which includes direct sales to customers.