LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) Short Interest Up 18.5% in March

LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 12,428,708 shares, a growth of 18.5% from the February 26th total of 10,485,899 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,163,496 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on LKQ from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays set a $34.00 price objective on LKQ in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LKQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,178,703 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $65,797,000 after acquiring an additional 503,998 shares in the last quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in LKQ by 0.7% during the third quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,313,761 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $40,122,000 after acquiring an additional 8,981 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in LKQ by 1.2% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 909,710 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,783,000 after purchasing an additional 10,616 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake in LKQ by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 596,682 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $18,020,000 after purchasing an additional 60,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in LKQ by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 374,299 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $11,304,000 after purchasing an additional 46,052 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Up 1.6%

LKQ traded up $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.37. 1,869,171 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,909,835. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.01 and its 200 day moving average is $31.07. LKQ has a 12 month low of $27.64 and a 12 month high of $43.47.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The auto parts company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.06). LKQ had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 4.36%.The business had revenue of $3.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. LKQ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.200 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that LKQ will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. LKQ’s payout ratio is 50.85%.

LKQ Company Profile

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.