Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 13,787 call options on the company. This is an increase of 85% compared to the typical volume of 7,465 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAP. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the second quarter worth about $581,909,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,474,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,094 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the second quarter valued at approximately $273,115,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,811,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,499,000 after buying an additional 117,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,499,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,249,000 after buying an additional 92,861 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Advance Auto Parts from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Mizuho raised their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.09.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AAP traded up $1.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.48. The company had a trading volume of 362,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,796,975. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.08, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.17. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $37.89 and a one year high of $65.21.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.38. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 0.51%.The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Advance Auto Parts’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Advance Auto Parts has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.400-3.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 138.89%.

About Advance Auto Parts

Advance Auto Parts, Inc (NYSE: AAP) is a leading distributor of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, and maintenance items. The company operates a network of stores and distribution centers across North America, serving both do-it-yourself (DIY) customers and professional service providers. Advance Auto Parts focuses on offering a comprehensive selection of replacement parts, batteries, engine components, and performance products for cars and light trucks.

The company’s product portfolio includes engine oils and lubricants, cooling system components, brake and suspension parts, filters, belts, hoses, and diagnostic tools.