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AutoZone (AZO) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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AutoZone (AZO - Free Report) closed at $1,820.93 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.16% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.09% gain on the day.

Coming into today, shares of the auto parts retailer had gained 8.12% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 9.07%, while the S&P 500 gained 8.19%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from AZO as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect AZO to post earnings of $20.44 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 9.83%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.33 billion, up 5.59% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $97.57 per share and revenue of $14.79 billion, which would represent changes of +2.5% and +1.11%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for AZO. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.93% higher within the past month. AZO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, AZO currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 18.63. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.64.

It is also worth noting that AZO currently has a PEG ratio of 1.43. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.48 as of yesterday's close.

The Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 102, putting it in the top 41% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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