DA Davidson Has Lowered Expectations for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock Price

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at DA Davidson from $4,850.00 to $4,500.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. DA Davidson’s target price indicates a potential upside of 29.77% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $4,090.00 to $4,262.00 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research raised AutoZone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Gabelli reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Wolfe Research began coverage on AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $4,650.00 target price (down previously from $4,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,365.35.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,467.72 on Wednesday. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $3,162.00 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3,854.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,896.19. The stock has a market cap of $57.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $32.69 by ($1.65). AutoZone had a net margin of 12.78% and a negative return on equity of 65.38%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $32.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total transaction of $1,132,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,400. The trade was a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891 in the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 371,123.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,472,724,000 after purchasing an additional 935,230 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at about $981,202,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7,358.8% during the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,929,000 after buying an additional 239,970 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 277.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 102,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,037,000 after buying an additional 75,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1,185.5% during the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 64,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,126,000 after buying an additional 59,653 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.