Phocas Financial Corp. Has $6.22 Million Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Key Points

• Phocas Financial Corp. increased its stake in Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) by 65.2% during the first quarter, owning approximately $6.22 million in shares.
• Recent analyst ratings show three sell ratings, nineteen hold ratings, and one buy rating for Advance Auto Parts, with an average price target of $48.53.
• Advance Auto Parts recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting a 1.9% dividend yield.

Phocas Financial Corp. raised its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 65.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,598 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,620 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. owned 0.27% of Advance Auto Parts worth $6,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 189.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 711 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 1,258.8% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 69.8% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Advance Auto Parts from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Roth Capital set a $50.00 price objective on Advance Auto Parts and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.53.

Insider Activity

In other Advance Auto Parts news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of Advance Auto Parts 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $479,183.52. This trade represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of AAP opened at $52.66 on Friday. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.89 and a 1 year high of $70.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of -8.97 and a beta of 1.05.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a negative return on equity of 1.76% and a negative net margin of 3.74%. Advance Auto Parts's quarterly revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.04%.

Advance Auto Parts 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.

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