Brokerages Set Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Target Price at $56.54

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.54.

Several analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Advance Auto Parts from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAP. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 22,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 895 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 3.5% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 3,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 267.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

AAP opened at $39.48 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.64. Advance Auto Parts has a 1 year low of $36.40 and a 1 year high of $88.56. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.22). Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 0.05% and a net margin of 0.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is 144.93%.

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.