Short Interest in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Expands By 6.7%

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) saw a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 465,500 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the September 15th total of 436,200 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 119,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,156.01 on Friday. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $2,375.35 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,131.86 and a 200 day moving average of $3,008.37. The firm has a market cap of $53.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $46.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 157.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,596,000 after purchasing an additional 6,226 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,998,000 after buying an additional 179,543 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 203,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $643,641,000 after buying an additional 7,988 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,338,000 after buying an additional 129,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.