Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,300,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the November 30th total of 3,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GPC. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wedbush cut their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.57.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 1.0 %

GPC stock opened at $115.82 on Tuesday. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $164.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $121.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 51.48%.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 74.0% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,809 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 87,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,264,000 after buying an additional 7,845 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 8.2% during the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 261,303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,499,000 after acquiring an additional 19,795 shares in the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 4,265.9% during the third quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 7,422 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 7,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 23.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 303,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,417,000 after purchasing an additional 56,776 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Company Profile

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.