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

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 2.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,295.50.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $7.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $3,354.28. The stock had a trading volume of 33,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,302. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,137.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,057.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,416.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $32.55 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 155.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Verde Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,137,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 592.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after purchasing an additional 7,879 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 16,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,979,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,699,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. 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.