O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1,391.79 and last traded at $1,385.07, with a volume of 151845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,375.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORLY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,325.00 to $1,425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of O’Reilly Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $1,150.00 to $1,450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,475.00 target price on shares of O’Reilly Automotive in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded O’Reilly Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,390.81.

O’Reilly Automotive Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,319.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,238.40. The firm has a market cap of $80.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91.

Shares of O’Reilly Automotive are scheduled 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 payable to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, June 9th.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. will post 43.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maria Sastre sold 248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,316.17, for a total transaction of $326,410.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,001.07. This represents a 20.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark Joseph Merz sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,325.00, for a total transaction of $662,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $364,375. This represents a 64.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,894 shares of company stock valued at $10,409,618 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORLY. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 64 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company grew its holdings in O’Reilly Automotive by 1.4% in the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 262 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alcosta Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,156 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,742,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. 85.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.