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

Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.80.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LKQ shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th.

LKQ Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $36.59 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.75. LKQ has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $53.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.72. The company has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 1.30.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 4.90%. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 374,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,795,180.08. This trade represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,733,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in LKQ by 451.1% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,327,664 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086,758 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 552.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,236,158 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $51,412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,805 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,944,496 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $496,772,000 after purchasing an additional 875,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in shares of LKQ by 39.8% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,067,772 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $127,589,000 after purchasing an additional 873,665 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.