Brokerages Set Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Target Price at $47.93

Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.93.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 1.9 %

AAP stock opened at $47.36 on Tuesday. Advance Auto Parts has a 52 week low of $35.59 and a 52 week high of $88.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.37.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The firm’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, research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.52 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is currently 136.99%.

Insider Activity at Advance Auto Parts

In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $56,220.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,159.96. This trade represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $312,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 3,130 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 7,285 shares in the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is owned by 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.