Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $12.69 Million Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,685,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,938,566,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $939,205,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $572,885,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,604,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $335,157,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Truist Financial set a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,000.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,029.43.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $2,932.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,047.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,310.04. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,902.20 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.33.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $36.22 by $1.85. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.40% and a negative return on equity of 80.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $35.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 150.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total transaction of $4,510,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,367,100. This represents a 76.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Company Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.