Brokerages Set LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) PT at $53.80

Shares of LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.80.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total value of $184,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 374,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,795,180.08. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,733,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its position in LKQ by 451.1% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,327,664 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000,000 after buying an additional 1,086,758 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in LKQ by 552.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,236,158 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $51,412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,805 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in LKQ by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,944,496 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $496,772,000 after acquiring an additional 875,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,067,772 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $127,589,000 after acquiring an additional 873,665 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LKQ Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of LKQ opened at $36.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 1.30. LKQ has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $53.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.75.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 4.90%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

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.