DA Davidson Upgrades AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) to “Buy”

DA Davidson upgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. DA Davidson currently has $4,192.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $3,500.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,605.88 on Friday. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,704.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,433.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,257.92.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 7.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at about $208,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.