AutoZone (AZO) ended the recent trading session at $3,100, demonstrating a -1.68% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.76%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.75%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.01%.

Coming into today, shares of the auto parts retailer had gained 1.68% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 3.42%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.31%.

The upcoming earnings release of AutoZone will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $33.68, reflecting a 3.47% increase from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $4.3 billion, indicating a 2.72% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $157.99 per share and revenue of $18.77 billion, which would represent changes of +8.11% and +1.53%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for AutoZone. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.4% lower within the past month. Currently, AutoZone is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note AutoZone's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 19.96. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 22.28, which means AutoZone is trading at a discount to the group.

It's also important to note that AZO currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.6. 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. The average PEG ratio for the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry stood at 1.55 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 194, placing it within the bottom 24% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming 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.

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