LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Receives $63.80 Average Price Target from Analysts

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.60.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In related news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $159,324,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in LKQ by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,507,873 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $358,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351,389 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in LKQ by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,907,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $490,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,122 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 95.1% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,403,053 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $114,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 9.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of LKQ opened at $43.76 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ has a 12-month low of $41.30 and a 12-month high of $59.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

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