LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Short Interest Down 17.4% in November

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) saw a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,070,000 shares, a decline of 17.4% from the November 15th total of 4,930,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LKQ shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, hitting $37.98. 1,495,471 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,959,914. The company has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.47 and its 200 day moving average is $40.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.67. LKQ has a 1-year low of $35.57 and a 1-year high of $53.68.

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

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. LKQ’s payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,977,708 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $478,150,000 after buying an additional 33,212 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,449,166 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $457,051,000 after purchasing an additional 134,176 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,542,740 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $260,330,000 after purchasing an additional 21,161 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 7.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,020,689 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $240,346,000 after purchasing an additional 411,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in LKQ by 6.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,398,538 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $182,936,000 after buying an additional 253,639 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.