AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.18% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on AZO. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus cut AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $3,646.62.

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AutoZone Stock Up 0.1 %

AZO traded up $4.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3,620.28. The stock had a trading volume of 198,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,171. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $3,365.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,229.56. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,636.96. The stock has a market cap of $60.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 592.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,012,000 after purchasing an additional 7,879 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

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.