Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Short Interest Update

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,440,000 shares, a growth of 20.4% from the February 13th total of 4,520,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of GPC stock traded up $0.50 on Tuesday, hitting $123.98. 1,280,214 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,135,988. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $120.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16 and a beta of 0.93. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $112.74 and a twelve month high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 59.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 199,232 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,829,000 after purchasing an additional 74,607 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 7.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 23,768 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 8.7% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 12,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 2.3% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,885 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.63.

About Genuine Parts

Genuine Parts Company distributes automotive replacement parts, and industrial parts and materials. It operates in two segments: Automotive Parts Group and Industrial Parts Group segments. The company distributes automotive replacement parts for hybrid and electric vehicles, trucks, SUVs, buses, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, farm vehicles, small engines, farm equipment, marine equipment, and heavy duty equipment; and equipment and parts used by repair shops, service stations, fleet operators, automobile and truck dealers, leasing companies, bus and truck lines, mass merchandisers, farms, and individuals.