Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Price Target to $44.00

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) had its target price cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $50.00 to $44.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.69.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Down 0.2 %

AAP stock opened at $36.90 on Thursday. Advance Auto Parts has a 1-year low of $35.59 and a 1-year high of $88.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.74. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.15.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 5,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. 88.75% of the stock is currently 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.