Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Price Target Raised to $45.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $40.00 to $45.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AAP. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.73.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AAP opened at $47.68 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.29 and a 200-day moving average of $47.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.32 and a beta of 1.16. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.53). The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.82) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,159.96. This trade represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAP. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 215.8% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 60,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,800,000 after acquiring an additional 41,000 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 2.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the second quarter worth $41,000. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the second quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 13.2% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

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.