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

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

AZO has been the topic of several other reports. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BNP Paribas raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,339.25.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of AZO traded up $9.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3,356.48. 67,455 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,447. The company has a market cap of $56.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,416.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3,137.56 and its 200 day moving average is $3,057.08.

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

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 18.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the period. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 44.9% in the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 38.6% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,755,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $781,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.