Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Trims Stake in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. $AAP

Key Points

• Zuckerman Investment Group LLC has reduced its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 5.2%, selling 9,833 shares and now owning approximately 0.30% of the company, worth about $6.96 million.
• In its latest earnings report, Advance Auto Parts beat analysts' expectations with $0.69 earnings per share and reported $2.01 billion in revenue, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 7.7%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, which will be paid on October 24th, representing an annualized yield of 1.7%.

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC cut its holdings in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 177,608 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,833 shares during the quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Advance Auto Parts worth $6,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAP. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,300 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC raised its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 7,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 5,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

Shares of AAP traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.74. 1,094,966 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,061,991. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.86 and a 200-day moving average of $45.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.53 and a beta of 1.05. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.89 and a 52 week high of $70.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for 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%. The business's revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Advance Auto Parts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.200-2.20 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio is currently -15.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAP. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $60.52 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday. Redburn Partners raised shares of Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts to $49.17 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, Citigroup set a $60.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $51.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $479,183.52. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.