Genuine Parts (GPC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $99.40.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 20th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 12th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday, April 17th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Genuine Parts from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $96.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 13th.

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Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wagner Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $117,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $109,000. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 1st quarter valued at about $116,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 87.8% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shares of GPC stock traded up $0.76 on Friday, reaching $98.06. 1,192,662 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 824,345. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $79.86 and a 1 year high of $107.75.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.69 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.78% and a return on equity of 21.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 5.66 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 7th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.07%.

About Genuine Parts

Genuine Parts Company distributes automotive replacement and industrial parts, electrical and electronic materials, and business products in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australasia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland. The company distributes automotive replacement parts for imported vehicles, trucks, SUVs, buses, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, farm vehicles, small engines, farm equipment, and heavy duty equipment through 57 NAPA automotive parts distribution centers and 1,100 NAPA AUTO PARTS stores.

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