Advance Auto Parts Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AAP)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 15,532 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 74% compared to the average volume of 8,944 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,998,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,268,000 after acquiring an additional 40,669 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,267,000 after purchasing an additional 46,226 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 67.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,533,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,522,000 after purchasing an additional 615,674 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter worth about $127,234,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.3% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,014,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,336,000 after buying an additional 32,426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 1.5 %

AAP opened at $60.61 on Wednesday. Advance Auto Parts has a 12 month low of $47.73 and a 12 month high of $88.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.43 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 1.59%. Advance Auto Parts’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, July 12th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 12th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 144.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAP has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Advance Auto Parts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.80.

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.