The first two weeks of March have been memorable ones for O'Reilly Automotive Inc.
The Springfield-based aftermarket auto parts retailer's stock price has notched back-to-back 52-week highs.
In the first week of March - the same week the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped below 6500 for the first time in 12 years - O'Reilly (Nasdaq: ORLY) saw its stock price hit a 52-week high at $33.88 per share. The Dow ended the week above 6600, but more than 1,400 stocks on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq had tumbled to 52-week lows, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Yesterday, O'Reilly stock hit another 52-week peak, trading as high as $35.47 a share - less than four dollars away from its historic high in April 2007.
The Web has been crackling with chatter about the stock's gains in the weeks since O'Reilly announced fourth-quarter sales of $1.1 billion - an 84 percent improvement over the same period in 2007. The company also reported last month that consolidated comparable store sales were up 4 percent in the fourth quarter.
"We hit or exceeded (Wall) Street estimates for what they thought O'Reilly was going to do," said company spokesman Mark Merz. "We would expect the market to respond favorably to favorable results."
Merz cited two factors contributing to O'Reilly's strong fourth-quarter performance: the ongoing integration of 1,350 CSK Auto stores acquired through a $1 billion deal in July 2008, and an economic climate that has more Americans extending the life of their cars rather than buying new ones.
As of 11:15 this morning, O'Reilly shares were trading down at $34.84.[[In-content Ad]]See SBJ's March 16 issue for more about O'Reilly's stock gains and the company's CSK integration strategy.
Springfield event venue Belamour LLC gained new ownership; The Wok on West Bypass opened; and Hawk Barber & Shop closed on a business purchase that expanded its footprint to Ozark.
