Roth Mkm Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ)

Roth Mkm reiterated their buy rating on shares of LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $65.00 price target on the auto parts company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LKQ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a buy rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $61.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $42.92 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.70. LKQ has a 52-week low of $41.30 and a 52-week high of $59.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 5.79%. LKQ’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.96%.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 228.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of LKQ during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

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.