LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.3333.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LKQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays started coverage on LKQ in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Stephens started coverage on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in LKQ by 32.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 198,250 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $8,434,000 after buying an additional 48,450 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in LKQ by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 535,387 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $19,815,000 after acquiring an additional 23,835 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in LKQ by 106.8% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,567 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 13,723 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in LKQ by 25.2% in the third quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 328,247 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $10,025,000 after purchasing an additional 66,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in LKQ by 5.2% in the second quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 150,012 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,552,000 after purchasing an additional 7,438 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $33.40 on Friday. LKQ has a 52-week low of $28.13 and a 52-week high of $44.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.91.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. LKQ had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 4.99%.The business had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. LKQ has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. Research analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. LKQ’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

About LKQ

LKQ Corporation is a leading provider of alternative and specialty parts to repair and accessorize automobiles and other vehicles. The company supplies a broad range of replacement components, including recycled original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts, aftermarket parts, refurbished and remanufactured items. Its products support collision repair, mechanical repair and performance enhancement needs across passenger cars, heavy trucks and recreational vehicles.

Through a combination of in-house operations and strategic acquisitions, LKQ has developed a comprehensive product portfolio that extends beyond core replacement parts.