Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts to $49.17 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.25.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

AAP stock opened at $49.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $28.89 and a one year high of $67.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of -8.42 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.68.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. Advance Auto Parts had a negative net margin of 3.74% and a negative return on equity of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,685,541 shares of the company's stock worth $316,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706,328 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,312,508 shares of the company's stock worth $169,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,611 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,552,475 shares of the company's stock worth $139,293,000 after acquiring an additional 102,921 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,741,701 shares of the company's stock worth $107,500,000 after acquiring an additional 13,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter worth about $87,214,000. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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