LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

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

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on LKQ. Roth Mkm reissued a buy rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $58.00.

LKQ Stock Up 2.2 %

LKQ stock opened at $39.69 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.78. 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 12-month low of $35.57 and a 12-month high of $53.68. The company has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.29.

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 return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. LKQ’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that LKQ will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 38.96%.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other news, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,515 shares in the company, valued at $8,281,923.65. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,281,923.65. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Andrew C. Clarke bought 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction of $301,720.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares in the company, valued at $417,604.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth $159,324,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in LKQ by 552.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,236,158 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $51,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,805 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $540,398,000 after purchasing an additional 977,585 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $496,772,000 after purchasing an additional 875,420 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,067,772 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $127,589,000 after buying an additional 873,665 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.