William Blair Brokers Reduce Earnings Estimates for AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) – Equities researchers at William Blair cut their FY2025 earnings estimates for AutoZone in a report issued on Tuesday, December 10th. William Blair analyst P. Blee now forecasts that the company will earn $152.93 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $154.26. The consensus estimate for AutoZone’s current full-year earnings is $154.29 per share.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AZO. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,360.47.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,370.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,416.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,155.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,066.94.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $32.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the second quarter worth $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by 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.