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

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) saw a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,440,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the February 13th total of 9,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 14.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AAP. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.13.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

Shares of Advance Auto Parts stock opened at $37.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 51.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27. Advance Auto Parts has a 12-month low of $33.08 and a 12-month high of $88.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.97.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.86%.

Insider Activity at Advance Auto Parts

In other Advance Auto Parts news, CEO Shane M. Okelly purchased 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $36.79 per share, for a total transaction of $55,185.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 183,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,021.59. This represents a 0.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 14,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.15 per share, for a total transaction of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,070 shares in the company, valued at $1,163,490.50. This represents a 75.35 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 5,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.75% 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.