Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Short Interest Up 15.6% in December

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,930,000 shares, a growth of 15.6% from the November 30th total of 8,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 16.8% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $56,220.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,117,000. Savoie Capital LLC lifted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 117.2% during the third quarter. Savoie Capital LLC now owns 69,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 37,500 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter worth approximately $503,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 26.4% in the third quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 10,858 shares of the company's stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the third quarter worth approximately $9,046,000. Institutional investors own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.40.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AAP traded up $1.99 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $46.05. 2,896,309 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,066,144. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.08 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.24. Advance Auto Parts has a 52 week low of $35.59 and a 52 week high of $88.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.53). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.82) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Advance Auto Parts's payout ratio is currently 136.99%.

Advance Auto Parts Company Profile

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.