O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $480.14.

ORLY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Exane BNP Paribas initiated coverage on O’Reilly Automotive in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $573.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised O’Reilly Automotive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 24th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Wedbush dropped their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $490.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. BNP Paribas began coverage on O’Reilly Automotive in a research note on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $573.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $541.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th.

Shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock traded up $4.82 on Thursday, reaching $471.01. 393,107 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 597,027. O’Reilly Automotive has a 1-year low of $251.51 and a 1-year high of $496.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $458.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $456.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.98.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.34 by $0.73. O’Reilly Automotive had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 373.35%. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.08 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that O’Reilly Automotive will post 23.13 EPS for the current year.

O’Reilly Automotive announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 28th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

In other O’Reilly Automotive news, Chairman David E. Oreilly sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.56, for a total transaction of $9,011,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 107,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,391,946.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Raymond Murphy sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.34, for a total value of $90,468.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nachman Norwood & Parrott Inc purchased a new stake in O’Reilly Automotive during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 38.8% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Cerebellum GP LLC acquired a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive during the third quarter worth about $63,000. Anderson Fisher LLC acquired a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive during the third quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee acquired a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive during the third quarter worth about $67,000. 82.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About O’Reilly Automotive

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retail of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories in the United States. The company provides new and remanufactured automotive hard parts and maintenance items, such as alternators, batteries, brake system components, belts, chassis parts, driveline parts, engine parts, fuel pumps, hoses, starters, temperature control, water pumps, antifreeze, lighting products, appearance products, engine additives, filters, fluids, and oil and wiper blades; and accessories, such as floor mats, seat covers, and truck accessories.