Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Stock

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) had its price objective raised by analysts at Citigroup from $44.00 to $47.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.15% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AAP. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.88.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP stock opened at $43.46 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.31. 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 cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.15. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $35.59 and a one year high of $88.56.

Insider Activity at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of Advance Auto Parts 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 5,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Company Profile

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.