AutoZone’s (AZO) Buy (B-) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings restated their buy (b-) rating on shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective 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, September 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $4,076.62 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4,149.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,856.03. The stock has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone has a 12 month low of $2,980.10 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $51.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth $27,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 700.0% in the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 8 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 9 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 3 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.