AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Upgraded by Argus to “Buy” Rating

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $4,325.00 target price on the stock. Argus’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.79% from the stock’s previous close.

AZO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $4,400.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,700.00 to $4,500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,274.00 to $4,345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of AutoZone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,312.13.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,641.03 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,621.83 and a 200-day moving average of $3,816.86. The company has a market capitalization of $60.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.41. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $3,210.72 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $28.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,295.00, for a total value of $823,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,102,665. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total transaction of $324,173.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,910,852.36. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 347 shares of company stock worth $1,179,256 and have sold 9,447 shares worth $34,179,923. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Stenger Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,642,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. S Harris Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $298,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $627,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.