AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $3,724.00.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 59.5% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 343 shares of the company's stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 132.7% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,845,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,311,000. American National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 2.0% in the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 3,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,836,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in AutoZone by 5.1% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 3,854 shares of the company's stock worth $14,694,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $60.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $3,559.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 248,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,964. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,916.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,548.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,318.05. The company has a market capitalization of $59.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AutoZone

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.