AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,704.35 on Monday. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,916.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,601.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,368.15.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total value of $17,568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,940. This trade represents a 96.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock valued at $42,177,331. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

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.