BMO Capital Markets Begins Coverage on Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP)

BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "market perform" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.46% from the stock's previous close.

AAP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Roth Capital raised Advance Auto Parts to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Roth Mkm reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.40.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.92. 818,682 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,078,913. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $40.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.32. Advance Auto Parts has a 52-week low of $35.59 and a 52-week high of $88.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 60.29 and a beta of 1.21. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.53). Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.82) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $56,220.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,069,159.96. This trade represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAP. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 140.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,908,658 shares of the company's stock worth $113,409,000 after buying an additional 1,698,155 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 76.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,266,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,197,000 after acquiring an additional 547,696 shares during the last quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP lifted 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 worth $79,162,000 after acquiring an additional 768,664 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 31.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,075,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,937,000 after purchasing an additional 258,656 shares during the period. Finally, Legion Partners Asset Management LLC increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 1.7% during the second quarter. Legion Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 786,250 shares of the company's stock worth $49,793,000 after purchasing an additional 13,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company's stock.

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.