UBS Group Reaffirms "Neutral" Rating for Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP)

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at UBS Group in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $50.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $36.00. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential downside of 5.21% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AAP. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $48.00 target price (up previously from $43.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.11.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

NYSE AAP traded up $3.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $52.75. 6,726,221 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,470,454. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.62. Advance Auto Parts has a 1 year low of $28.89 and a 1 year high of $71.09. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.93.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Advance Auto Parts's revenue for the quarter was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, CEO Shane M. Okelly acquired 1,500 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $36.79 per share, with a total value of $55,185.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,021.59. This represents a 0.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 14,640 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.15 per share, for a total transaction of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,163,490.50. This represents a 75.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,685,541 shares of the company's stock worth $316,160,000 after buying an additional 1,706,328 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 31.8% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,312,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $169,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,611 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,552,475 shares of the company's stock worth $139,293,000 after acquiring an additional 102,921 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,741,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,500,000 after acquiring an additional 13,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter valued at $87,214,000. 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.