LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on LKQ. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.80.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock opened at $38.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.24. LKQ has a one year low of $35.57 and a one year high of $53.68.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 44.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of LKQ by 451.1% during the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,327,664 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,758 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in LKQ by 552.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,236,158 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $51,412,000 after buying an additional 1,046,805 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in LKQ by 7.9% during 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. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in LKQ by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,067,772 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $127,589,000 after acquiring an additional 873,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in LKQ by 9.5% in the 1st 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.

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.