LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.80.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock remained flat at $39.98 during trading on Monday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,002,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,773,562. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.91. LKQ has a 1 year low of $35.57 and a 1 year high of $53.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.05). LKQ had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. LKQ’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,500 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,281,923.65. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.91 per share, for a total transaction of $99,775.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,281,923.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Andrew C. Clarke acquired 7,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction of $301,720.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,604.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 12,600 shares of company stock valued at $500,870. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,897,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,650,234,000 after purchasing an additional 656,883 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,944,496 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $496,772,000 after purchasing an additional 875,420 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,307,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $540,398,000 after purchasing an additional 977,585 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,113,931 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $486,775,000 after purchasing an additional 111,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,220,571 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $438,108,000 after purchasing an additional 712,698 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

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.