Short Interest in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Increases By 9.6%

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) saw a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,780,000 shares, an increase of 9.6% from the March 31st total of 4,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,920,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 8.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carla Jean Bailo acquired 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $81.19 per share, with a total value of $25,168.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,789 shares in the company, valued at $470,008.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Carla Jean Bailo acquired 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $81.19 per share, with a total value of $25,168.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,789 shares in the company, valued at $470,008.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Herman L. Word, Jr. sold 1,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.08, for a total value of $159,936.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $899,363.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 190.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 508.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 267.7% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 353 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AAP opened at $72.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Advance Auto Parts has a 12 month low of $47.73 and a 12 month high of $127.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.97. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.58, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.17.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.83). Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 1.68%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 135.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.56.

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.