AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $3,788.10 and last traded at $3,776.69, with a volume of 41456 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3,681.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,483.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,278.52.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its 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 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. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 750.0% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 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.