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

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.40.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ traded up $2.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $41.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,589,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,083,460. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.75.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that LKQ will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 369,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,352,356.68. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $781,500. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LKQ. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in LKQ by 40.6% in 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 last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of LKQ by 29.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 23,090 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 5,286 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 16.0% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 257,057 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $10,262,000 after buying an additional 35,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in LKQ by 94.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.