Short Interest in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Drops By 14.5%

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,440,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the February 13th total of 9,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 14.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:AAP traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.54. The stock had a trading volume of 116,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,103,841. Advance Auto Parts has a 1-year low of $33.08 and a 1-year high of $88.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.68, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is presently -17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, CEO Shane M. Okelly bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.79 per share, for a total transaction of $55,185.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,021.59. This trade represents a 0.83 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 14,640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.15 per share, for a total transaction of $499,956.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 34,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,163,490.50. This represents a 75.35 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAP. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 1,543.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 198.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAP. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.13.

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.