Wedbush Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO)

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. Wedbush currently has a $3,700.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,646.62.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,569.49 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3,351.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,223.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,570.50.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 18.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 592.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after buying an additional 7,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.