Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Trading Down 5.1% – What’s Next?

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) shares fell 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $42.92 and last traded at $43.20. 586,681 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 2,078,416 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.40.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 0.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.12 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.53). The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.82) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.54 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is presently 136.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $56,220.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAP. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,307,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 98.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,742,000. Finally, Investment House LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the second quarter worth about $1,983,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

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.