Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.11.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAP shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Roth Capital set a $50.00 price target on Advance Auto Parts and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $35.00 price objective on Advance Auto Parts and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Insider Transactions at Advance Auto Parts

In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. acquired 14,640 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.15 per share, with a total value of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,163,490.50. This represents a 75.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly acquired 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $36.79 per share, for a total transaction of $55,185.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,021.59. This represents a 0.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAP. Eminence Capital LP acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter worth about $87,214,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,685,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,160,000 after buying an additional 1,706,328 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter valued at $75,055,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 2,585.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,353,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,026,000 after buying an additional 1,303,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 2,662.0% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,293,205 shares of the company's stock worth $61,156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,384 shares during the period. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

Shares of AAP traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $48.60. The stock had a trading volume of 438,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,451,686. Advance Auto Parts has a 52 week low of $28.89 and a 52 week high of $71.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.93. The company's fifty day moving average is $35.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.59. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. Advance Auto Parts's revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.04%.

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.