AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $3,916.81 and last traded at $3,846.09, with a volume of 16174 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3,809.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,515.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,294.29. The company has a market capitalization of $64.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. Analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after purchasing an additional 89,190 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,033,000 after purchasing an additional 77,015 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.