Wolfe Research Initiates Coverage on Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP)

Key Points

• Wolfe Research has initiated coverage on Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) with a "peer perform" rating, while other analysts' ratings vary but mostly lean towards "hold".
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $0.69 per share, surpassing estimates of $0.59, despite revenue declining by 7.7% year-over-year.
• Currently, Advance Auto Parts has a consensus target price of $52.03, with significant interest from institutional investors, who own 88.70% of the stock.

Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a peer perform rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AAP. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Advance Auto Parts to $49.17 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Roth Capital set a $50.00 target price on Advance Auto Parts and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Redburn Atlantic raised Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Advance Auto Parts from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $52.03.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AAP traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $58.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,549,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,386,789. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.20 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $59.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.29. Advance Auto Parts has a fifty-two week low of $28.89 and a fifty-two week high of $70.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a negative return on equity of 1.97% and a negative net margin of 4.37%.The firm's revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Advance Auto Parts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.200-2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Advance Auto Parts's payout ratio is -15.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 78.6% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 17,532 shares of the company's stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 7,718 shares during the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $172,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 203,949 shares of the company's stock worth $9,482,000 after purchasing an additional 15,790 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,090,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $101,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% 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.