AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Rating Increased to Buy at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. DA Davidson currently has $4,192.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $3,500.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AZO. Mizuho raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,605.88 on Friday. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,704.43. The stock has a market cap 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 fifty day moving average is $3,433.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,259.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted 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 business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,721 shares of company stock valued at $17,009,311. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6,083.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,281,000 after acquiring an additional 89,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,033,000 after acquiring an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.