Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 13th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share on Friday, April 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th.

Advance Auto Parts has increased its dividend payment by an average of 26.0% per year over the last three years. Advance Auto Parts has a payout ratio of 22.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Advance Auto Parts to earn $4.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.8%.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AAP opened at $78.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 106.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.61. Advance Auto Parts has a 12-month low of $47.73 and a 12-month high of $129.90.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.83). The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 1.68%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.88 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carla Jean Bailo acquired 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $81.19 per share, with a total value of $25,168.90. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,008.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Brent Windom purchased 4,700 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $85.34 per share, with a total value of $401,098.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carla Jean Bailo bought 310 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $81.19 per share, with a total value of $25,168.90. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,008.91. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Enlightenment Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 15.2% in the first quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 5,375.0% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAP shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho started coverage on Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.47.

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.