AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and four have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $3,724.00.

AZO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,559.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $59.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,548.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,318.05. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AutoZone by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th 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.