StockNews.com Upgrades AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) to Buy

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

AZO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $3,821.91.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,645.65 on Wednesday. AutoZone has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,916.81. The company has a market cap of $61.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,652.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,406.74.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company's stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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