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

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on LKQ. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock opened at $39.31 on Tuesday. LKQ has a fifty-two week low of $35.57 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $10.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is 38.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LKQ news, SVP Matthew J. Mckay purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.75 per share, for a total transaction of $99,375.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,670 shares in the company, valued at $3,763,132.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Andrew C. Clarke acquired 7,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.70 per share, with a total value of $301,720.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,604.30. The trade was a 200.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew J. Mckay bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.75 per share, with a total value of $99,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,763,132.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LKQ

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,897,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,650,234,000 after purchasing an additional 656,883 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in LKQ by 7.9% in 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 buying an additional 875,420 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 977,585 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 1.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,113,931 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $486,775,000 after acquiring an additional 111,124 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 712,698 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.