Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Advance Auto Parts was upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• The company's stock has a consensus price target of $51.20 with twenty analysts rating it as a hold, indicating cautious optimism among investors.
• Despite beating earnings expectations for the last quarter with $0.69 EPS, Advance Auto Parts reported a 7.7% decline in revenue year-over-year, emphasizing ongoing challenges in the market.

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

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AAP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup set a $60.00 target price on Advance Auto Parts in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Redburn Partners upgraded Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $51.01.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

NYSE:AAP traded down $0.6380 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.9620. 615,334 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,690,754. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.78 and a beta of 1.05. Advance Auto Parts has a 52 week low of $28.89 and a 52 week high of $70.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $55.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Advance Auto Parts had a negative return on equity of 1.97% and a negative net margin of 4.37%.The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Advance Auto Parts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.200-2.20 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $45,996.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $479,183.52. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in 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 valued at $316,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706,328 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,394,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,322,000 after buying an additional 82,456 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,552,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,293,000 after buying an additional 102,921 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,741,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,500,000 after buying an additional 13,412 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,406,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,857,000 after buying an additional 286,148 shares during the period. 88.75% of the stock is 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.