Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Short Interest Update

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.4 %

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

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GPC. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 59.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 199,232 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,829,000 after acquiring an additional 74,607 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.