LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.60.

LKQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of LKQ from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,087,548.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in LKQ by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 11,370 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the first quarter valued at $484,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 27.7% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 50,875 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,717,000 after buying an additional 11,046 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in LKQ by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 57,890 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,092,000 after acquiring an additional 16,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in LKQ by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 34,205 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,827,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock opened at $43.76 on Tuesday. LKQ has a 1 year low of $41.30 and a 1 year high of $59.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $50.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.09.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 38.96%.

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.