Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Truist Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.10% from the stock’s previous close.

AZO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,264.25.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.7 %

AZO stock opened at $3,347.85 on Wednesday. AutoZone has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,416.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,134.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,053.20.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone will post 155.79 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

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

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.