Evercore ISI Issues Positive Forecast for Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Stock Price

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $35.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "in-line" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI's price objective indicates a potential downside of 13.73% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $35.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.90.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of AAP traded up $2.56 on Friday, hitting $52.16. 3,908,930 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,459,890. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 71.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.34. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $28.89 and a one year high of $71.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.53.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 14,640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.15 per share, for a total transaction of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,070 shares in the company, valued at $1,163,490.50. This represents a 75.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $36.79 per share, with a total value of $55,185.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,021.59. This trade represents a 0.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the company's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Annandale Capital LLC lifted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 109,241 shares of the company's stock worth $5,166,000 after acquiring an additional 34,746 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter valued at $8,822,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 305,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,453,000 after purchasing an additional 150,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,586,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Advance Auto Parts Company Profile

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.