Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Receives $48.40 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.40.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP opened at $44.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.21 and a 200 day moving average of $48.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.36 and a beta of 1.21. Advance Auto Parts has a 12 month low of $35.59 and a 12 month high of $88.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is 136.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $56,220.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 140.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,908,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,409,000 after buying an additional 1,698,155 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 76.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,266,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,197,000 after acquiring an additional 547,696 shares during the period. Dorsal Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 159.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP now owns 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,162,000 after acquiring an additional 768,664 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,075,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,937,000 after buying an additional 258,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legion Partners Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legion Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 786,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,793,000 after purchasing an additional 13,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

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.