LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.80.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

LKQ Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $42.63 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ has a 12-month low of $35.57 and a 12-month high of $54.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.96%.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, SVP Matthew J. Mckay bought 2,500 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.75 per share, for a total transaction of $99,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,763,132.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Matthew J. Mckay bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.75 per share, for a total transaction of $99,375.00. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,763,132.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Andrew C. Clarke purchased 7,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.70 per share, with a total value of $301,720.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,604.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 13,084 shares of company stock valued at $521,096. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth about $851,000. Homestead Advisers Corp purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,583,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,839,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in LKQ by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 689,041 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,929,000 after acquiring an additional 227,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in LKQ in the first quarter worth approximately $1,468,000. 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.