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 research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

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

LKQ Trading Up 2.2 %

LKQ stock opened at $39.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.78. LKQ has a 52 week low of $35.57 and a 52 week high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 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 analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that LKQ will post 3.6 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of LKQ

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,897,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,650,234,000 after acquiring an additional 656,883 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 purchasing an additional 875,420 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in LKQ by 9.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. 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 worth $486,775,000 after buying an additional 111,124 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 9.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,220,571 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $438,108,000 after buying an additional 712,698 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.