AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $3,788.10 and last traded at $3,776.69, with a volume of 41456 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $3,681.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson raised AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $63.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3,460.20 and its 200-day moving average is $3,270.12.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 750.0% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 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.