BMO Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP)

BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.40.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

AAP opened at $43.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.92. Advance Auto Parts has a twelve month low of $35.59 and a twelve month high of $88.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.08 and a beta of 1.21.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.53). The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.82) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 136.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $56,220.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,159.96. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAP. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 59,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,779,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 4,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 3.7% in the third quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 2.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 2.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Advance Auto Parts

Advance Auto Parts, Inc provides automotive replacement parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items for domestic and imported cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light and heavy duty trucks. The company offers battery accessories; belts and hoses; brakes and brake pads; chassis and climate control parts; clutches and drive shafts; engines and engine parts; exhaust systems and parts; hub assemblies; ignition components and wires; radiators and cooling parts; starters and alternators; and steering and alignment parts.