Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $518,000 Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 113.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,200 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,030 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAP. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,242,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,674 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 1,543.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 871 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AAP. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Redburn Partners raised Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.25.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.26. 1,583,003 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,478,813. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $39.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.54. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.22 and a beta of 1.06. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.89 and a twelve month high of $67.03. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a negative net margin of 3.74% and a negative return on equity of 1.76%. Advance Auto Parts's revenue for the quarter was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.04%.

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.