AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AZO. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on 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 upgraded AutoZone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4,600.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $3,821.91.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of AZO opened at $3,779.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $63.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3,658.37 and a 200 day moving average of $3,417.80. AutoZone has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.