Evercore ISI Lowers AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Price Target to $3,346.00

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target decreased by Evercore ISI from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $3,450.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $2,909.94 on Tuesday. AutoZone has a 52 week low of $2,277.88 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $2,992.30 and its 200 day moving average is $2,751.32.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 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 company had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $24.64 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 151.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,890 shares of company stock valued at $55,531,693 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 232,194.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,891,963,000 after buying an additional 731,413 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 107,977.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 699,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,724,500,000 after buying an additional 698,613 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in AutoZone by 368.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 411,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,242,000 after buying an additional 323,536 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $658,788,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in AutoZone by 111.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,379,000 after buying an additional 176,623 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.