Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Acquires 21 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 106 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 20,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,903,000 after buying an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Impact Investors Inc bought a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $554,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $583,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in AutoZone by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 40,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,957,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,388.21 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,484.42. The stock has a market cap of $56.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3,327.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,212.80.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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%. AutoZone’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $32.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone 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.