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

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $4,285.00.

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Gabelli reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,700.00 to $4,000.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th.

AutoZone Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE AZO opened at $3,702.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3,580.39 and a 200-day moving average of $3,848.81. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $3,210.72 and a 1-year high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $32.69 by ($1.65). The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 65.38% and a net margin of 12.78%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $32.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total value of $324,173.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,910,852.36. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 250 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,295.00, for a total transaction of $823,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $16,102,665. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 347 shares of company stock valued at $1,179,256 and have sold 9,447 shares valued at $34,179,923. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,711,912,000 after acquiring an additional 26,544 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 371,123.0% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,472,724,000 after purchasing an additional 935,230 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 714,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,650,870,000 after purchasing an additional 11,088 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 444,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,649,228,000 after purchasing an additional 8,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 269,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,900,000 after purchasing an additional 3,868 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.