Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,080,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the September 15th total of 9,560,000 shares. Approximately 17.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,998,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,268,000 after acquiring an additional 40,669 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 67.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,533,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,522,000 after purchasing an additional 615,674 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter worth about $127,234,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 76.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,266,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,197,000 after buying an additional 547,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsal Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 159.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP now owns 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,162,000 after buying an additional 768,664 shares during the period. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AAP shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Thursday, September 12th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $63.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital raised Advance Auto Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.36.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AAP opened at $38.60 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Advance Auto Parts has a 12-month low of $36.40 and a 12-month high of $88.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.16.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.22). Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 0.05% and a net margin of 0.01%. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 144.93%.

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.