LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on LKQ. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.40.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock opened at $41.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.75. LKQ has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $53.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 4.90%. As a group, research analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 374,462 shares in the company, valued at $13,795,180.08. This trade represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $781,500. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in LKQ by 40.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,262 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 91,386 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,648,000 after buying an additional 3,259 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of LKQ by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 23,090 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 5,286 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of LKQ by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 257,057 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $10,262,000 after acquiring an additional 35,493 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in LKQ by 94.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.