LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.60.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LKQ shares. StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $43.64 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.18. The company has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ has a 1 year low of $41.30 and a 1 year high of $59.38.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. LKQ’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. Norges Bank bought a new position in LKQ during the 4th quarter worth approximately $159,324,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in LKQ by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,507,873 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $358,848,000 after buying an additional 1,351,389 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in LKQ by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,907,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $490,528,000 after buying an additional 1,195,122 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in LKQ by 95.1% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,403,053 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $114,842,000 after buying an additional 1,171,225 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in LKQ by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,307,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $540,398,000 after buying an additional 977,585 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

About LKQ

LKQ Corporation engages in the distribution of replacement parts, components, and systems used in the repair and maintenance of vehicles and specialty vehicle aftermarket products and accessories. It operates through four segments: Wholesale-North America, Europe, Specialty, and Self Service. The company distributes bumper covers, automotive body panels, and lights, as well as mechanical automotive parts and accessories; salvage products, including mechanical and collision parts comprising engines; transmissions; door assemblies; sheet metal products, such as trunk lids, fenders, and hoods; lights and bumper assemblies; scrap metal and other materials to metals recyclers; and brake pads, discs and sensors, clutches, steering and suspension products, filters, and oil and automotive fluids, as well as electrical products, including spark plugs and batteries.