Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Trading 5.3% Higher – Time to Buy?

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) was up 5.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $39.78 and last traded at $39.82. Approximately 490,377 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 2,099,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAP. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.13.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 7.8 %

The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.69, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.85.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Shane M. Okelly purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.79 per share, for a total transaction of $55,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,021.59. This represents a 0.83 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 14,640 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.15 per share, with a total value of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,163,490.50. This represents a 75.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 564.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 23,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 20,293 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,144,000. Clearline Capital LP increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 445,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,360,000 after acquiring an additional 39,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 72.2% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 159,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,201,000 after purchasing an additional 66,690 shares during the period. 88.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.