Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Mizuho from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Mizuho’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.44% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer upgraded AutoZone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4,600.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,667.00 on Thursday. AutoZone has a 52 week low of $2,801.49 and a 52 week high of $3,916.81. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,701.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,544.02. The firm has a market cap of $61.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.39.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $36.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. The trade was a 85.95% 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, 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,940. The trade was a 96.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,662 shares of company stock valued at $131,999,089 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AZO. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $228,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in AutoZone by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

About AutoZone

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.