Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 29th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share on Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th.

Advance Auto Parts has decreased its dividend by an average of 32.5% per year over the last three years. Advance Auto Parts has a payout ratio of 32.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Advance Auto Parts to earn $1.56 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 64.1%.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE AAP opened at $46.07 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.11 and a beta of 1.16. Advance Auto Parts has a 12-month low of $35.59 and a 12-month high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.53). The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.82) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAP shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of Advance Auto Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $56,220.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. This trade represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.