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

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 27th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share on Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th.

Advance Auto Parts has decreased its dividend by an average of 32.5% per year over the last three years. Advance Auto Parts has a dividend payout ratio of 34.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Advance Auto Parts to earn $1.57 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 63.7%.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Advance Auto Parts stock opened at $36.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.11 and a 200 day moving average of $43.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.15. Advance Auto Parts has a 52-week low of $35.59 and a 52-week high of $88.56.

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 on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $56,220.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. This trade represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AAP shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.69.

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.