Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,080,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the September 15th total of 9,560,000 shares. Approximately 17.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AAP shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $63.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.36.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

AAP opened at $38.60 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.32. Advance Auto Parts has a fifty-two week low of $36.40 and a fifty-two week high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.01% and a return on equity of 0.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 144.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 267.7% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 353 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 1,241.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.