Phoenix Financial Ltd. Acquires New Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. has acquired 67 shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the first quarter, with the total investment valued at around $255,000.
• AutoZone's recent quarterly earnings report indicated an EPS of $35.36, falling short of the consensus estimate of $37.07, but the company's revenue rose to $4.46 billion, a 5.4% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts remain optimistic about AutoZone, with multiple institutions raising their target prices, the average target now being $4,087.00 and a majority rating the stock as a buy.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 67 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,128,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 83.6% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 549 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,093,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the company's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 4,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,906,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Westover Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 978 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,729,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $4.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $3,878.54. 39,080 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,746. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,898.57 and a 1 year high of $3,919.50. The company has a market capitalization of $65.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3,709.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,605.41.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $36.69 EPS. AutoZone's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total transaction of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,877.35. This represents a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AZO. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $4,100.00 price objective (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,087.00.

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.