LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.80.

LKQ Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $37.32 on Monday. LKQ has a 52-week low of $35.57 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.88.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LKQ

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 226.3% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 22,363 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 15,509 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth $634,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 94,268 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,763,000 after buying an additional 16,676 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,567 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,542,740 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $260,330,000 after purchasing an additional 21,161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.