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

Shares of O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,390.81.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ORLY shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,450.00 to $1,525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised O’Reilly Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wedbush raised their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,400.00 to $1,535.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,110.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mark Joseph Merz sold 500 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,325.00, for a total transaction of $662,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,375. The trade was a 64.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Maria Sastre sold 248 shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,316.17, for a total value of $326,410.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 971 shares in the company, valued at $1,278,001.07. This trade represents a 20.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,894 shares of company stock valued at $10,409,618 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in O’Reilly Automotive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,163,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,122,607,000 after purchasing an additional 17,325 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in O’Reilly Automotive by 73.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,725,316 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,986,874,000 after purchasing an additional 728,040 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,479,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,700,513,000 after acquiring an additional 24,135 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,443,540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,711,750,000 after acquiring an additional 11,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 799,848 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $948,460,000 after acquiring an additional 46,979 shares in the last quarter. 85.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

O’Reilly Automotive Price Performance

ORLY opened at $1,338.75 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,296.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,228.35. O’Reilly Automotive has a 1 year low of $947.49 and a 1 year high of $1,389.05. The firm has a market cap of $76.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91.

O’Reilly Automotive’s stock is going to split before the market opens on Tuesday, June 10th. The 15-1 split was announced on Thursday, March 13th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, June 9th.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $9.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.23. O’Reilly Automotive had a negative return on equity of 166.88% and a net margin of 14.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that O’Reilly Automotive will post 43.94 EPS for the current year.

O’Reilly Automotive Company Profile

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer and supplier of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. 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, appearance products, engine additives, filters, fluids, lighting products, and oil and wiper blades; and accessories, including floor mats, seat covers, and truck accessories.