ORLY O Reilly Automotive Inc

AutoZone Inc. (AZO) announced that its Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of $750 million of the company's common stock in addition to its existing share repurchase program.

The company’s Board last increased the share repurchase authorization by the same amount in September last year. Since the inception of the repurchase program in 1998, the company has authorized share repurchase worth $11.9 billion, including the above amount.

AutoZone, a Zacks #2 Rank (Buy) company, recorded a 24% increase in profit to $4.15 per share in the second quarter of fiscal year ended February 11, 2012 from $3.34 per share in the year-ago quarter. The profit exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11 cents per share. In absolute terms, profits went up 13% to $166.9 million during the quarter from $148.1 million in the second quarter of the prior fiscal year.

Sales in the quarter rose 9% to $1.8 billion, which was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Domestic same store sales (sales for stores open at least one year) increased 5.9% during the quarter.

During the quarter, AutoZone repurchased 501 thousand shares of its common stock for $173 million, reflecting an average price of $345. At the end of the quarter, the company had $486 million worth of shares remaining under its current share repurchase authorization.

AutoZone is one of the nation’s leading specialty retailers of automotive replacement parts and accessories, operating in the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) retail, Do-It-for-Me (DIFM) commercial and other customer markets. It competes with O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) and Advance Auto Parts Inc. (AAP), both of which have posted an impressive rise in profits during their last reported quarters.

 
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