Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AZO. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,339.25.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,344.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $56.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,137.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,057.08. AutoZone has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,416.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

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.