Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on AZO. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,216.44.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.4 %

AZO stock opened at $3,192.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,126.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,041.13. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $53.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Insider Activity

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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Conning Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 4.3% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 2.6% in the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.