Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

AutoZone (AZO - Free Report) closed at $1,880.10 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.82% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.17% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.55%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.44%.

Coming into today, shares of the auto parts retailer had gained 2.4% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 1.41%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.19%.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from AutoZone as it approaches its next earnings report date. On that day, AutoZone is projected to report earnings of $20.65 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 10.96%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.33 billion, up 5.59% from the prior-year quarter.

AZO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $97.73 per share and revenue of $14.81 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +2.67% and +1.22%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for AutoZone. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.1% higher. AutoZone is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.

Looking at its valuation, AutoZone is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 19.08. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 19.85, so we one might conclude that AutoZone is trading at a discount comparatively.

Also, we should mention that AZO has a PEG ratio of 1.86. 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 1.53 as of yesterday's close.

The Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 78, which puts it in the top 31% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


AutoZone, Inc. (AZO) - free report >>

Published in