LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Stock Rating Lowered by Barrington Research

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Barrington Research from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Friday, Briefing.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of LKQ from $39.00 to $36.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered LKQ from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Roth Capital set a $35.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $30.00 price objective on LKQ in a report on Friday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.58.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $5.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.44. The stock had a trading volume of 10,192,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,033,583. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. LKQ has a 12-month low of $17.21 and a 12-month high of $37.13. The company has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.72.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.04). LKQ had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 3.37%. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. LKQ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.600-2.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC increased its stake in LKQ by 32.7% in the third quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 12,425 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LKQ by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 218,363 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,985,000 after acquiring an additional 19,732 shares in the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 9.6% during the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 44,229 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 3,864 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in LKQ by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 21,503 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of LKQ by 57.5% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 68,062 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,554,000 after acquiring an additional 24,839 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting LKQ

Here are the key news stories impacting LKQ this week:

• Positive Sentiment: LKQ appointed Salvatore A. Abbate as president and CEO, effective December 15, with a mandate to improve execution and performance. The company also retained Alvarez & Marsal to advise on its European operations, which could support a turnaround. LKQ appoints Salvatore A. Abbate as president and chief executive officer
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning was mixed in the latest reported quarter: 247 investors increased their holdings while 297 reduced them. Large additions by Pzena Investment Management were offset by significant reductions from Boston Partners, EdgePoint, Capital World Investors, Nordea and Morgan Stanley.
• Negative Sentiment: Preliminary third-quarter revenue was approximately $3.32 billion, down from $3.50 billion a year earlier. Parts-and-services organic revenue fell 5.4%, while Europe declined 9.8%; LKQ cited disruptions from a German enterprise-resource-planning implementation and volume declines in the United Kingdom and Benelux. LKQ preliminary third-quarter 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: LKQ expects a third-quarter net loss of $16 million to $32 million, or a diluted loss of $0.06 to $0.12 per share. Updated EPS guidance of $0.47 to $0.53 and revenue guidance of $3.3 billion are well below consensus estimates of $0.69 and $3.4 billion, respectively.
• Negative Sentiment: The board removed CEO Justin Jude and European chief Andy Hamilton, and LKQ withdrew its full-year 2026 guidance. The abrupt leadership turnover and lack of visibility increase uncertainty about the duration and cost of the European recovery. LKQ ousts CEO and warns of third-quarter shortfall
• Negative Sentiment: Block & Leviton is investigating whether LKQ misled investors about its European operations and the German software rollout. Although the investigation does not establish wrongdoing, it adds potential legal and reputational risk. LKQ investigation announcement

About LKQ

LKQ Corporation is a global distributor of automotive parts and accessories. The company supplies replacement parts, components and equipment to professional repair shops, collision-repair businesses, insurers, dealerships and other commercial customers. Its product offerings include recycled original-equipment parts, aftermarket parts, specialty vehicle products, tools and equipment.

LKQ’s operations include the procurement, dismantling and distribution of salvaged vehicles, allowing it to provide recycled engines, transmissions, body panels and other components.