AutoZone’s (AZO) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Oppenheimer

by · The Markets Daily

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Free Report)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Oppenheimer in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $4,300.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $4,150.00. Oppenheimer’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.04% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on AZO. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,600.00 to $4,400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research lowered AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,318.38.

Read Our Latest Report on AZO

AutoZone Stock Up 1.8%

AZO traded up $65.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $3,737.92. 15,157 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,060. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3,627.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,813.72. The company has a market cap of $61.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.41. AutoZone has a 12-month low of $3,210.72 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $28.29 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total transaction of $324,173.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,564 shares in the company, valued at $11,910,852.36. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Hannasch purchased 147 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3,393.09 per share, with a total value of $498,784.23. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 962 shares in the company, valued at $3,264,152.58. This trade represents a 18.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 347 shares of company stock worth $1,179,256 and have sold 9,447 shares worth $34,179,923. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,642,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. S Harris Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $298,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $627,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

About AutoZone

(Get Free Report)

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.

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