AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Given New $3,346.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target lowered by Evercore ISI from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

AZO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. TheStreet lowered shares of AutoZone from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2 %

AZO stock opened at $2,909.94 on Tuesday. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,277.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2,992.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,751.32. The stock has a market cap of $50.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $24.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 151.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,890 shares of company stock valued at $55,531,693. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 92.74% of the stock is 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.