StockNews.com Downgrades LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) to Buy

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, August 28th.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ opened at $52.87 on Friday. LKQ has a one year low of $46.20 and a one year high of $59.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $55.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.54.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The auto parts company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 7.80%. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Analysts forecast that LKQ will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In related news, Director Meg Divitto sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.16, for a total value of $124,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $845,275.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in LKQ by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,471,700 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,247,489,000 after acquiring an additional 357,868 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 22,373,336 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,303,694,000 after purchasing an additional 387,486 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in LKQ by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,059,871 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $644,459,000 after purchasing an additional 464,859 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in LKQ by 271.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,612,434 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $459,990,000 after buying an additional 6,296,379 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 0.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,345,142 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $473,670,000 after buying an additional 28,213 shares in the last quarter. 93.67% of the stock is currently 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 automotive glass products, such as windshields; 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.