Advance Auto Parts Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AAP)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 45,468 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 314% compared to the average volume of 10,974 call options.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:AAP opened at $59.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of -10.16 and a beta of 1.04. Advance Auto Parts has a fifty-two week low of $28.89 and a fifty-two week high of $64.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.32.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a negative return on equity of 1.76% and a negative net margin of 3.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In other news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $45,996.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,876 shares in the company, valued at $479,183.52. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 189.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 355.8% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 939 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 1,258.8% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAP shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Advance Auto Parts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised Advance Auto Parts from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $36.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.53.

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.