Short Interest in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Increases By 9.0%

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 363,400 shares, an increase of 9.0% from the December 31st total of 333,300 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 129,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after acquiring an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,545,000 after acquiring an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,867,000 after purchasing an additional 13,771 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates raised its holdings in AutoZone by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,211,000 after purchasing an additional 42,776 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,437.77 on Tuesday. AutoZone has a 52 week low of $2,672.31 and a 52 week high of $3,445.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3,263.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,167.44. The company has a market cap of $57.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $32.55 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AZO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Truist Financial increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,429.84.

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.