AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Earns “Buy” Rating from Guggenheim

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Guggenheim in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on AZO. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,216.44.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,190.07 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,128.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,043.20. The firm has a market cap of $53.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $46.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,545,000 after buying an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,998,000 after acquiring an additional 179,543 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates grew its position in AutoZone by 0.5% in the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in AutoZone by 2.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,684,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by 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.