AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3,429.84.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AutoZone in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 27.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.7% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,933,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at about $205,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,408.52 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3,321.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,204.55. The company has a market cap of $57.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone has a one year low of $2,680.96 and a one year high of $3,484.42.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $32.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.