O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

ORLY has been the subject of several other research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,475.00 price target on shares of O’Reilly Automotive in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group boosted 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. Barclays increased their target price on O’Reilly Automotive from $1,110.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of O’Reilly Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $1,150.00 to $1,450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,390.81.

O’Reilly Automotive Price Performance

Shares of O’Reilly Automotive stock opened at $1,389.87 on Thursday. O’Reilly Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $947.49 and a fifty-two week high of $1,458.37. The company has a market cap of $79.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,341.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,251.62.

Shares of O’Reilly Automotive are scheduled to split on the morning of Tuesday, June 10th. The 15-1 split was announced on Thursday, March 13th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, June 9th.

O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) last posted its 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 net margin of 14.28% and a negative return on equity of 166.88%. Analysts expect that O’Reilly Automotive will post 43.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at O’Reilly Automotive

In other news, Chairman Gregory L. Henslee sold 3,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,315.15, for a total value of $4,041,455.95. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,988,764.55. This represents a 21.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brad W. Beckham sold 833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,300.00, for a total transaction of $1,082,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,000. This trade represents a 52.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On O’Reilly Automotive

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $3,123,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $40,349,000 after acquiring an additional 6,418 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of O’Reilly Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $365,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in O’Reilly Automotive by 824.6% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 3,606 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,276,000 after buying an additional 3,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of O’Reilly Automotive by 6.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,907 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.00% of the company’s stock.

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.