AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.72% from the stock’s current price.

AZO has been the subject of several other reports. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,339.25.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $9.32 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $3,356.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 67,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,447. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,137.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,057.08. AutoZone has a one year low of $2,510.00 and a one year high of $3,416.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $32.55 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 155.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after acquiring an additional 993,139 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at $424,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,267,000 after buying an additional 115,924 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in AutoZone by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after buying an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 319.0% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,375,000 after buying an additional 27,580 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.