Morgan Stanley Remains Sidelined on AutoZone (AZO) Following 3Q Miss

Morgan Stanley maintained an Equalweight rating and $820.00 price target on AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) following the company's 3Q earnings report. AZO reported EPS of $10.88, coming in below the Street's estimates of $10.92.

Analyst Simeon Gutman commented, "Q3 results were modestly weaker than expected with EPS 4c below consensus ($10.88 adjusted vs. $10.92), which still came in light excluding a 34 bps legal charge. A top-line miss was the culprit, with comps of +2.0% below the +3.7% street consensus. Gross margin of 52.8% was solid (+60 bps YoY and +20 bps vs. consensus), with the expense ratio deleveraging by 18bps YoY to 31.8% due to the lighter top-line. Ex the $8.8m pre-tax legal charge, EBIT dollars rose 6.1% YoY. This is a solid level of growth in light of the modest top-line shortfall."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on AutoZone click here. For more ratings news on AutoZone click here.

Shares of AutoZone closed at $760.42 yesterday.

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