Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Short Interest Up 10.0% in December

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) saw a large 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 volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC stock opened at $116.76 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $120.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.22. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $112.74 and a 1 year high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.48%.

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.