Bank of America Upgrades AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) to Buy

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) was upgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $4,800.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $3,900.00. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential upside of 24.39% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of AutoZone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,930.10.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AZO opened at $3,858.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $64.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,682.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,441.47. AutoZone has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by 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.