LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Short Interest Update

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,930,000 shares, an increase of 27.1% from the October 31st total of 3,880,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Monday, hitting $38.96. 396,801 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,931,501. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.67. LKQ has a 1 year low of $35.57 and a 1 year high of $53.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.59.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in LKQ during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in LKQ by 94.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,010 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in LKQ by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in LKQ by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,211 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

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.