Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Earns “Neutral” Rating from UBS Group

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at UBS Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $50.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $36.00. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.67% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price objective (up previously from $43.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.71.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE AAP opened at $48.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.34. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $28.89 and a one year high of $71.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.71, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.93.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The firm’s revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Advance Auto Parts

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAP. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 7,285 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 3,130 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter valued at $312,000. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Advance Auto Parts

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.