LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.60.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LKQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 336,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,225,233.20. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in LKQ by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 618.0% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,673 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of LKQ during the third quarter worth $81,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in LKQ by 107.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,099 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $40.98 on Friday. LKQ has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $53.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.96.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

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.