AutoZone (AZO) closed the most recent trading day at $1,177.13, moving -0.07% from the previous trading session. This move was narrower than the S&P 500’s daily loss of 0.86%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.96%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.13%.
Coming into today, shares of the auto parts retailer had gained 2.93% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 2.75%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.66%.
AZO will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be December 10, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $13.86, up 2.9% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $2.76 billion, up 4.62% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $65.25 per share and revenue of $12.15 billion, which would represent changes of +2.87% and +2.37%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for AZO should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company’s business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.22% lower. AZO currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, AZO is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 18.05. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 19.09.
Meanwhile, AZO’s PEG ratio is currently 1.48. 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 1.6 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 27, putting it in the top 11% 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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