Advance Auto Parts’ (AAP) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at DA Davidson

DA Davidson reissued their neutral rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $48.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AAP. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. Roth Capital set a $48.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, August 21st. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Advance Auto Parts from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 0.2%

Advance Auto Parts stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $45.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,234,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,766,657. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.02. Advance Auto Parts has a 12-month low of $37.89 and a 12-month high of $65.20.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.02. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 1.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is 60.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the second quarter valued at $581,909,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the 2nd quarter valued at $273,115,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,421,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,900 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,127,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,243,000 after purchasing an additional 282,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 2nd quarter worth $59,626,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

About Advance Auto Parts

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. is a retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories and maintenance products. Its offerings include replacement parts, batteries, tools, fluids and other supplies for a range of vehicles. The company serves both do-it-yourself customers and professional automotive repair shops through its stores, online channels and network of independent locations. Its retail banners include Advance Auto Parts and Carquest. Advance Auto Parts traces its roots to 1932, when the business began in Roanoke, Virginia.