Wedbush Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP)

Wedbush reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, RTT News reports. The firm currently has a $55.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $65.00.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on AAP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $55.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $78.00 to $64.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a hold rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $60.08.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:AAP opened at $49.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 71.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.62. Advance Auto Parts has a 1-year low of $47.73 and a 1-year high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.59% and a net margin of 0.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.93%.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAP. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 11.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 2nd quarter valued at about $380,000. Clearline Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 115.4% during the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 405,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,683,000 after purchasing an additional 217,276 shares during the last quarter. Annandale Capital LLC increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 52.7% in the second quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 69,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,425,000 after buying an additional 24,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scientech Research LLC raised its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 150.0% during the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 24,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after buying an additional 14,953 shares in the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.