AutoZone (AZO) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

AutoZone (AZO) closed the most recent trading day at $3,681.68, moving +0.26% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.12%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.31%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 2.04%.The auto parts retailer's shares have seen an increase of 7.2% over the last month, surpassing the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 5.39% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.91%.Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of AutoZone in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, AutoZone is projected to report earnings of $37.07 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 1.04%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.41 billion, up 4.17% from the year-ago period.AZO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $150.25 per share and revenue of $18.82 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +2.81% and +1.78%, respectively.Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for AutoZone. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 1.76% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. AutoZone presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).Valuation is also important, so investors should note that AutoZone has a Forward P/E ratio of 24.44 right now. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 20.54 for its industry.One should further note that AZO currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.07. 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. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.68.The Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 161, which puts it in the bottom 36% of all 250+ industries.The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AutoZone, Inc. (AZO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks