FORA Capital LLC Makes New $2.44 Million Investment in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 61,049 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,437,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in LKQ in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,839,000. Addenda Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the second quarter worth approximately $6,419,000. TCW Group Inc. acquired a new stake in LKQ during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,601,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at $20,555,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 3,683.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 274,577 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $11,420,000 after buying an additional 267,320 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, LKQ currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $39.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.70 and a 200-day moving average of $40.70. LKQ Co. has a 12 month low of $35.57 and a 12 month high of $53.68.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 44.78%.

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.