LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.80.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $37.66 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.29. LKQ has a 12-month low of $35.57 and a 12-month high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 15.15%. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 398,312 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,901,000 after purchasing an additional 79,830 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,552,916 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,992,000 after purchasing an additional 18,004 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $826,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 83,250 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 15,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 679,430 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,123,000 after purchasing an additional 10,912 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.