Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Price Target Raised to $45.00

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AAP. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Roth Capital upgraded Advance Auto Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.73.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AAP opened at $45.51 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Advance Auto Parts has a 1-year low of $35.59 and a 1-year high of $88.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.34 and a beta of 1.16.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.53). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.82) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is 136.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 59,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,779,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 4,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.