Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Price Target Raised to $48.00

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $45.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.71.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:AAP opened at $48.70 on Friday. Advance Auto Parts has a 12-month low of $28.89 and a 12-month high of $71.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 66.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.63 and a 200-day moving average of $40.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In other news, CEO Shane M. Okelly acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $36.79 per share, for a total transaction of $55,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,021.59. This trade represents a 0.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. acquired 14,640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.15 per share, with a total value of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,163,490.50. This represents a 75.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,685,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706,328 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 31.8% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 4,312,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,611 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.0% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,552,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,293,000 after buying an additional 102,921 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 0.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,741,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,500,000 after buying an additional 13,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter worth $87,214,000. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advance Auto Parts Company Profile

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.