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AutoZone (AZO) Stock Moves -1.23%: What You Should Know

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AutoZone (AZO - Free Report) closed at $2,464.89 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.23% move from the prior day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 2.08%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.95%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.19%.

Heading into today, shares of the auto parts retailer had gained 10.06% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 2.53% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.29% in that time.

AutoZone will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $24.82, down 3.39% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.82 billion, up 4.16% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $125.33 per share and revenue of $17.02 billion. These totals would mark changes of +6.95% and +4.71%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for AutoZone should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-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. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.09% higher. AutoZone is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, AutoZone currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 19.91. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 17.8, which means AutoZone is trading at a premium to the group.

It is also worth noting that AZO currently has a PEG ratio of 1.5. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.82 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 166, putting it in the bottom 35% 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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