Short Interest in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Grows By 15.6%

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,930,000 shares, a growth of 15.6% from the November 30th total of 8,590,000 shares. Currently, 16.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE AAP opened at $47.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 64.78 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.13. Advance Auto Parts has a 52-week low of $35.59 and a 52-week high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.53). Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.82) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 136.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. This trade represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,117,000. Savoie Capital LLC increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 117.2% during the third quarter. Savoie Capital LLC now owns 69,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after acquiring an additional 37,500 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the third quarter valued at about $503,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 10,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,046,000. Institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AAP. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.40.

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.