LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on LKQ. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ opened at $40.40 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.93. LKQ has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $53.68. The firm has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Analysts anticipate that LKQ will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $180,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,415 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 2,209 shares during the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ during the fourth quarter valued at about $440,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter worth about $519,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter worth about $12,356,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of LKQ in the fourth quarter worth about $3,037,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by 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.