Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Short Interest Up 29.9% in November

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, a growth of 29.9% from the October 31st total of 2,210,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Monday, reaching $127.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,398,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,060,946. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $128.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.15.

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

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is 51.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on GPC. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.57.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Miramar Capital LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 9.8% in the third quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 87,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,264,000 after purchasing an additional 7,845 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 261,303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,499,000 after purchasing an additional 19,795 shares in the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 4,265.9% in the third quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 7,422 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 7,252 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 12.3% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 591,075 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $82,561,000 after acquiring an additional 64,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 13.7% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 48,430 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,765,000 after purchasing an additional 5,840 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

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.