Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $40.94, but opened at $43.49. Advance Auto Parts shares last traded at $44.10, with a volume of 2,062,627 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital raised Advance Auto Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.14.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.37.

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

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is 136.99%.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAP. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1,241.7% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 644 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the second quarter valued at about $63,000. 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.