Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its target price for Advance Auto Parts from $48.00 to $55.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating amid a market consensus that suggests a 3.33% downside from the current stock price.
• Advance Auto Parts recently reported earnings of $0.69 per share, exceeding estimates and generating revenue of $2.01 billion, although this reflects a 7.7% decline from the previous year.
• The company has a current consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with three sell ratings, nineteen holds, and one buy rating assigned across various firms.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Redburn Partners raised shares of Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $51.01.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

AAP stock traded down $0.2510 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.0690. 393,826 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,681,533. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.76. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $28.89 and a one year high of $70.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.80 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio is -15.70%.

Insider Activity at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $45,996.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $479,183.52. This trade represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAP. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 189.0% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 711 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 290.3% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 925 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 355.8% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 939 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 88.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.