AutoZone's (AZO) Buy (B-) Rating Reaffirmed at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• AutoZone's stock has been reaffirmed with a "buy (B-)" rating by Weiss Ratings, indicating continued confidence in the company's performance.
• Barclays recently raised AutoZone's price target from $3,916 to $4,610, while analysts generally recommend a "buy" with a consensus price target of about $4,544.68.
• Despite reporting a quarterly earnings miss, AutoZone still shows a year-over-year revenue growth of 0.6% and has a market capitalization of $63.79 billion.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $4,750.00 price objective (down from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $4,850.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded down $48.71 on Friday, hitting $3,801.30. 125,132 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 130,171. AutoZone has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4,145.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,872.28. The company has a market capitalization of $63.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The firm's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $51.58 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in AutoZone by 98.3% in the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 829 shares of the company's stock worth $3,161,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in AutoZone by 19.3% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,607 shares of the company's stock worth $6,127,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 266.7% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 165 shares of the company's stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Night Squared LP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth $2,860,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 14 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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