LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) Receives $52.60 Consensus PT from Analysts

LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.60.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $37.12 on Thursday. LKQ has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $45.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.12 and its 200 day moving average is $39.59. The company has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 4.97%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $190,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 316,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,019,452.70. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude acquired 2,708 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $36.99 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 280,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,385,941.23. This represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at $165,548,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at $160,339,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 258.0% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,562,625 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $194,089,000 after buying an additional 3,288,048 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter valued at $119,395,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 95.7% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 5,477,467 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $233,011,000 after buying an additional 2,678,964 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.