AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $4,072.24.

AZO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price target on shares of AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.1%

AZO stock opened at $3,599.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $60.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,699.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,515.58. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $2,801.49 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $36.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total value of $17,568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,940. This trade represents a 96.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,912 shares of company stock worth $136,901,262. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $10,030,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 62.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in AutoZone by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 97 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in AutoZone by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,325,000 after purchasing an additional 103 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.

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