AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Receives “Buy” Rating from Guggenheim

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by Guggenheim in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on AZO. Citigroup dropped their target price on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,216.44.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.4 %

AZO opened at $3,192.44 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3,126.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,041.13. AutoZone has a 52-week low of $2,510.00 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The company has a market cap of $53.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced 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 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $46.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the business’s 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 transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 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.