Short Interest in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Drops By 14.5%

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,440,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the February 13th total of 9,870,000 shares. Currently, 14.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of AAP stock traded up $0.62 on Thursday, reaching $37.54. 116,354 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,103,841. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Advance Auto Parts has a 1-year low of $33.08 and a 1-year high of $88.56. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.86%.

Insider Transactions at Advance Auto Parts

In other news, CEO Shane M. Okelly acquired 1,500 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.79 per share, for a total transaction of $55,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,021.59. This trade represents a 0.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. acquired 14,640 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $34.15 per share, with a total value of $499,956.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,163,490.50. This trade represents a 75.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 1,543.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAP shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.13.

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.