LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research restated an outperform rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a buy rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $58.00.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $40.84 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. LKQ has a fifty-two week low of $35.57 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The company has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.46.

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

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 38.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew J. Mckay acquired 2,500 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.75 per share, for a total transaction of $99,375.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 94,670 shares in the company, valued at $3,763,132.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other LKQ news, SVP Matthew J. Mckay purchased 2,500 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.75 per share, for a total transaction of $99,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,670 shares in the company, valued at $3,763,132.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Andrew C. Clarke acquired 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction of $301,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,604.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LKQ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in LKQ by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,897,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,650,234,000 after buying an additional 656,883 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 7.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,944,496 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $496,772,000 after acquiring an additional 875,420 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,307,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $540,398,000 after acquiring an additional 977,585 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in LKQ by 1.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,113,931 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $486,775,000 after purchasing an additional 111,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in LKQ by 9.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,220,571 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $438,108,000 after purchasing an additional 712,698 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Company Profile

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.