LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ – Get Rating) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.25.

A number of analysts have issued reports on LKQ shares. Barrington Research raised LKQ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 28th. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on LKQ from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Monday, April 11th.

In other news, Director Patrick Berard sold 702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.72, for a total transaction of $34,903.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,994.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,326,163 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $151,040,000 after buying an additional 20,361 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 1st quarter worth $275,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 6,550 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 287.1% in the 1st quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 20,905 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 15,505 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,039,275 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $92,604,000 after buying an additional 55,796 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.02% of the company’s stock.

LKQ traded up $0.97 on Friday, hitting $51.09. 2,131,896 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,777,532. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.71. The firm has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 1.46. LKQ has a one year low of $42.36 and a one year high of $60.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The auto parts company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 20.19% and a net margin of 8.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LKQ will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 18th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.81%.

LKQ Company Profile (Get Rating)

LKQ Corporation distributes replacement parts, components, and systems used in the repair and maintenance of vehicles. It operates through three segments: North America, Europe, and Specialty. The company distributes bumper covers, automotive body panels, and lights, as well as automotive glass products, such as windshields; 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.

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