Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Short Interest Update

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) saw a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,860,000 shares, an increase of 26.6% from the May 15th total of 4,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 9.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $78.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.93.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of AAP traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $64.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,661,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,751,423. The company has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 92.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $47.73 and a one year high of $88.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $71.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.95.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.59% and a net margin of 0.37%. The company’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, July 12th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 12th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.93%.

Insider Activity at Advance Auto Parts

In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Brent Windom bought 4,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.34 per share, for a total transaction of $401,098.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $853,400. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Herman L. Word, Jr. sold 1,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.08, for a total value of $159,936.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,448 shares in the company, valued at $899,363.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brent Windom acquired 4,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $85.34 per share, with a total value of $401,098.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,400. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 190.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 267.7% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 285.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.