AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Short Interest Up 6.7% in September

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 465,500 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the September 15th total of 436,200 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 119,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,156.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,131.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,008.37. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $2,375.35 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The company has a market cap of $53.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $46.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 157.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $284,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $1,029,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $879,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AZO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $2,600.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

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.