Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Sunday.

AAP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Advance Auto Parts from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts to $49.17 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.25.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP stock opened at $49.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Advance Auto Parts has a 52 week low of $28.89 and a 52 week high of $64.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of -8.42 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.79.

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

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Advance Auto Parts news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $45,996.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $479,183.52. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 21.1% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 12,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 29.6% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 25,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 5,836 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 14.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 180,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,096,000 after acquiring an additional 23,018 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 192,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,563,000 after acquiring an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter valued at about $1,068,000. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.