ORLY stock hits 52-week high on earnings report

O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) stock hit a 52-week high this morning on news of a strong first quarter.

ORLY shares went as high as $230.56 this morning, compared to a 52-week low of $143.25. Shares closed yesterday at $216.67.

In its earnings report released yesterday, the Springfield-based auto parts retailer announced net income of $212.9 million, a 22.4 percent increase over $173.9 million earnings a year earlier.

Diluted share earnings jumped 45 cents to $2.06 for the three-month period ended March 31, according to a news release.

“The first quarter of 2015 represents our 25th consecutive quarter of generating diluted earnings per share growth greater than 15 percent,” O’Reilly President and CEO Greg Henslee said in the release.

First-quarter financial notes:

• Sales rose 10 percent to $1.9 million from $1.7 million a year earlier.
• O’Reilly produced comparable store sales increase of 7.2 percent, on top of a 6.3 percent bump in the first quarter.
• The company repurchased 600,000 shares during the three-month period at an average price of $207.50, for a total investment of $135 million.
• O’Reilly opened 67 new stores, resulting in a store count of 4,433. “One of the keys to our long-term success has been our robust, tiered, regional distribution network that supports our stores with industry-leading parts availability,” Henslee said, noting the company is targeting 205 net new stores by year’s end.

As of March 31, O’Reilly’s assets were $6.8 billion, according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]