LKQ’s (LKQ) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Barrington Research currently has a $60.00 price target on the auto parts company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $40.49 on Thursday. LKQ has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $53.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.63 and a 200 day moving average of $38.76. The firm has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $781,500. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LKQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in LKQ by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in LKQ by 94.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,010 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in LKQ by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in LKQ during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 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.