Advance Auto Parts, Inc. $AAP Stock: Private Management Group Inc. Grows Stake

Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 581,659 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,523 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $22,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $581,909,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the second quarter valued at approximately $273,115,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 86.5% during the second quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,421,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,900 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,626,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,860,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Advance Auto Parts from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Roth Capital set a $48.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:AAP opened at $46.02 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.36 and its 200-day moving average is $51.73. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.75. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.89 and a 52-week high of $65.20.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 9.84%. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 8th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is 60.98%.

Advance Auto Parts Company Profile

Advance Auto Parts, Inc is a retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories and maintenance products. Its offerings include replacement parts, batteries, tools, fluids and other supplies for a range of vehicles.

The company serves both do-it-yourself customers and professional automotive repair shops through its stores, online channels and network of independent locations. Its retail banners include Advance Auto Parts and Carquest.

Advance Auto Parts traces its roots to 1932, when the business began in Roanoke, Virginia.