R Squared Ltd Buys New Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $384,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 0.6% during the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,237,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,324.32 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,672.31 and a 52-week high of $3,437.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3,242.80 and its 200 day moving average is $3,156.76. The firm has a market cap of $55.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.