Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,440,000 shares, a growth of 13.4% from the June 15th total of 6,560,000 shares. Approximately 12.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $78.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Advance Auto Parts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.64.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

NYSE AAP traded up $1.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $63.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,028,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,693,202. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 92.25, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. Advance Auto Parts has a fifty-two week low of $47.73 and a fifty-two week high of $88.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 1.59%. Advance Auto Parts’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 12th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 144.93%.

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.