LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Short Interest Up 31.0% in February

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,490,000 shares, an increase of 31.0% from the January 31st total of 6,480,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total value of $634,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,225,233.20. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at $165,548,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter worth about $160,339,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth about $119,395,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth about $91,678,000. Finally, Eminence Capital LP acquired a new position in LKQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,944,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded up $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $42.08. 196,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,302,257. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.90. LKQ has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $53.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders 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 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 45.80%.

LKQ Company Profile

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.