Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,590,000 shares, a decline of 19.7% from the November 15th total of 10,700,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 14.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAP. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.40.

Insider Activity at Advance Auto Parts

In other news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $56,220.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. This trade represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the third quarter worth about $1,117,000. Savoie Capital LLC lifted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 117.2% in the third quarter. Savoie Capital LLC now owns 69,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 37,500 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the third quarter worth $503,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 26.4% in the third quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 10,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter worth $9,046,000. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

AAP stock traded up $1.64 during trading on Monday, reaching $45.50. 331,772 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,074,120. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.08 and a beta of 1.21. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $40.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.92. Advance Auto Parts has a twelve month low of $35.59 and a twelve month high of $88.56.

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

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.99%.

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.