The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Price Target to $43.00

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) had its target price decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $60.00 to $43.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush raised shares of Advance Auto Parts from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.14.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 6.4 %

Shares of AAP stock opened at $40.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.02 and a 200-day moving average of $54.11. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.93 and a beta of 1.17. Advance Auto Parts has a 52-week low of $35.59 and a 52-week high of $88.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.53). The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.82) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 1,241.7% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 98.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 769 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,000. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.