Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Grows Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. raised its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,869 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises 1.6% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $5,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,442.61.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,484.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3,336.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,217.19. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,500.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $32.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share 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.