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

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AAP. Mizuho reissued a neutral rating and set a $38.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced 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 research note on Friday, August 23rd. One equities 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, Advance Auto Parts has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $56.54.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

AAP opened at $41.43 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.17. Advance Auto Parts has a 52-week low of $37.51 and a 52-week high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last released its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAP. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 267.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 353 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 1,241.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. 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.