Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.13.

AAP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

NYSE AAP opened at $37.63 on Wednesday. Advance Auto Parts has a 1 year low of $33.08 and a 1 year high of $88.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.55, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.15.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 14,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.15 per share, for a total transaction of $499,956.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,163,490.50. This represents a 75.35 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.79 per share, for a total transaction of $55,185.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,021.59. This represents a 0.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAP. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1,543.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

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.