Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Shares Down 6.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)’s share price fell 6.4% on Friday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $41.00 to $39.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Advance Auto Parts traded as low as $38.48 and last traded at $38.58. 459,382 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 2,029,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.20.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AAP. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.14.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 140.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,908,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,409,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698,155 shares during the period. Third Point LLC acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter valued at $127,234,000. Dorsal Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 159.7% in the second quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP now owns 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,162,000 after buying an additional 768,664 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 67.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,533,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,522,000 after buying an additional 615,674 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 76.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,266,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,197,000 after buying an additional 547,696 shares during the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.02 and a 200-day moving average of $54.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,768.00, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.17.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 0.05% and a net margin of 0.01%. Advance Auto Parts’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is currently 10,000.00%.

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.