AutoZone's (AZO) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at DA Davidson

Key Points

• DA Davidson has reaffirmed a "buy" rating for AutoZone (AZO) with a price target of $4,850.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.40% from the current stock price.
• Several brokerages, including Evercore ISI and JPMorgan Chase, have recently increased their price targets for AutoZone, reflecting a generally optimistic outlook on the company's performance.
• AutoZone reported a quarterly earnings miss, with EPS at $48.71, below the consensus estimate of $50.52, yet year-over-year revenue increased by 0.6% to $6.24 billion.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by DA Davidson in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4,850.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson's price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.40% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AZO. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $4,741.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,508.04.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO traded up $11.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $4,131.02. 23,690 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 129,925. AutoZone has a twelve month low of $2,980.10 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The company has a market cap of $69.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4,050.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,807.29.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone by 3.5% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in AutoZone by 10.1% during the first quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,267,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN boosted its position in AutoZone by 0.9% during the first quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN now owns 7,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,591,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 98.3% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 829 shares of the company's stock worth $3,161,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $545,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

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.

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