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

Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.60.

LKQ has been the subject of several research reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300 in the last ninety days. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,563 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 22,575 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in LKQ by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $309,609,000 after acquiring an additional 833,519 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group bought a new stake in LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $634,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in LKQ by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 268,031 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $9,850,000 after acquiring an additional 99,229 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in LKQ by 27,310.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 64,415 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,571,000 after acquiring an additional 64,180 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Down 3.0 %

LKQ stock opened at $41.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.95. The company has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.27. LKQ has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Analysts anticipate that LKQ will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

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.