Advance Auto Parts’ (AAP) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their neutral rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $70.00 target price on the stock.

AAP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Advance Auto Parts from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $65.19.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AAP traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.57. 1,246,992 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,151,992. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.01, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. Advance Auto Parts has a 52 week low of $47.73 and a 52 week high of $114.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $77.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.83). The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 1.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carla Jean Bailo purchased 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $81.19 per share, for a total transaction of $25,168.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,789 shares in the company, valued at $470,008.91. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Brent Windom bought 4,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.34 per share, for a total transaction of $401,098.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $853,400. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Carla Jean Bailo bought 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $81.19 per share, for a total transaction of $25,168.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,008.91. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,998,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,268,000 after purchasing an additional 40,669 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 2,226.6% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,026,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939,560 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,577,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,267,000 after buying an additional 46,226 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 67.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,533,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,522,000 after buying an additional 615,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter worth about $127,234,000. 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.