Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $46.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $48.00.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Advance Auto Parts from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $28.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP opened at $48.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.23 and a beta of 1.06. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $28.89 and a one year high of $65.19.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a negative return on equity of 1.76% and a negative net margin of 3.74%. The company’s revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $45,996.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,876 shares in the company, valued at $479,183.52. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Annandale Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 109,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,166,000 after purchasing an additional 34,746 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,822,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 305,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,453,000 after acquiring an additional 150,604 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,586,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 649,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,735,000 after purchasing an additional 100,445 shares during the period. 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.