Evercore ISI Issues Positive Forecast for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock Price

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its target price lifted by Evercore ISI from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AZO. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,646.62.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,569.49 on Wednesday. AutoZone has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,570.50. The company has a market cap of $59.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3,351.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,223.79.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by 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.