AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Upgraded by DA Davidson to Buy Rating

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) was upgraded by analysts at DA Davidson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $4,192.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $3,500.00. DA Davidson’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.42% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6 %

AZO opened at $3,569.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,426.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,254.98. AutoZone has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,704.43. The firm has a market cap of $59.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,871 shares of company stock worth $6,720,811. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 18.1% during the third 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% during 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 last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC lifted 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 valued at $8,460,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in AutoZone by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.