Wells Fargo & Company Trims Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Target Price to $40.00

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $40.00 in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen decreased 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 report on Friday, August 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $55.00 price objective (down from $65.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $56.54.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP opened at $41.14 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.45. Advance Auto Parts has a 52 week low of $37.51 and a 52 week high of $88.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 59.62, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is 144.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 22,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 895 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 3,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 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.