Citigroup Cuts AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Price Target to $3,500.00

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its target price reduced by Citigroup from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

AZO has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on AutoZone from $3,900.00 to $3,350.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoZone from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and set a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $3,169.38.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,196.61 on Wednesday. AutoZone has a 12 month low of $2,375.35 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,121.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,012.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 54.58% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $46.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 151.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,138,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 60.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 22,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,326,000 after buying an additional 8,427 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 12.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,059,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 243,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,780,000 after buying an additional 58,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,816,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.