AutoZone (AZO) closed at $2,017.01 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.03% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.84%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.06%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.1%.
– ZacksHeading into today, shares of the auto parts retailer had lost 0.8% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector’s loss of 5.57% and the S&P 500’s loss of 4.03% in that time.
AutoZone will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, AutoZone is projected to report earnings of $17.80 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 19.22%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $3.16 billion, up 8.56% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $107.29 per share and revenue of $15.54 billion. These totals would mark changes of +12.71% and +6.21%, 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. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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 0.06% lower within the past month. AutoZone is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note AutoZone’s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 18.61. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.77, so we one might conclude that AutoZone is trading at a premium comparatively.
Meanwhile, AZO’s PEG ratio is currently 1.68. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company’s expected earnings growth rate into account. AZO’s industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.31 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 100, which puts it in the top 40% 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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AutoZone, Inc. (AZO): Free Stock Analysis Report
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