AM Squared Ltd Takes $63,000 Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAP. Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter valued at about $127,234,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 337.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 811,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,540,000 after acquiring an additional 626,294 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 67.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,533,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,522,000 after buying an additional 615,674 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $37,522,000. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the 1st quarter worth about $34,332,000. Institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 target price (down from $65.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “hold” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.62.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AAP traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.31. 3,065,454 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,459,929. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a one year low of $44.90 and a one year high of $88.56. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.67, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.98.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued 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 return on equity of 0.05% and a net margin of 0.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Advance Auto Parts’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 2.17 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, October 25th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio 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.