AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,038.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Citigroup cut their price target on AutoZone from $3,420.00 to $3,250.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating and set a $2,600.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on AutoZone from $3,278.00 to $3,275.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $3,112.71.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.7 %

AZO opened at $3,101.04 on Friday. AutoZone has a twelve month low of $2,375.35 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,091.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,010.86. The stock has a market cap of $52.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners increased its stake in AutoZone by 1.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,596,000 after acquiring an additional 6,226 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,998,000 after buying an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $678,350,000. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 243,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,780,000 after buying an additional 58,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in AutoZone by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 212,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,296,000 after buying an additional 22,507 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

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.