DA Davidson Has Negative Outlook of AutoZone FY2025 Earnings

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) – DA Davidson cut their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of AutoZone in a research report issued on Tuesday, March 25th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now expects that the company will earn $147.94 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $149.30. DA Davidson has a “Buy” rating and a $4,192.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for AutoZone’s current full-year earnings is $152.94 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for AutoZone’s FY2026 earnings at $174.41 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,825.31 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3,472.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,273.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,838.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,721 shares of company stock valued at $17,009,311. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,455,000 after acquiring an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,460,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in AutoZone by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at $228,000. 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.