Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) – Stock analysts at Wedbush boosted their Q1 2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Advance Auto Parts in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 14th, Zacks Investment Research reports. Wedbush analyst S. Basham now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.42 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.37. Wedbush also issued estimates for Advance Auto Parts’ Q3 2019 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $1.39 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $8.10 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $9.15 EPS.
A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AAP. Zacks Investment Research raised Advance Auto Parts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Credit Suisse Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Tuesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Advance Auto Parts to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Advance Auto Parts to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Tuesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.71.
AAP stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $155.35. 663,294 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,402,795. Advance Auto Parts has a 1-year low of $128.51 and a 1-year high of $186.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.31.
Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.10. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 4.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.37%.
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 0.3% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,788,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.1% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 4.5% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 98.98% of the stock is 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.