LKQ Co. (LKQ) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30 on March 27th

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share by the auto parts company on Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th.

LKQ has raised its dividend payment by an average of 68.7% annually over the last three years. LKQ has a dividend payout ratio of 31.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect LKQ to earn $4.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.9%.

LKQ Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ LKQ opened at $44.05 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 14.93%. Equities analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

Insider Transactions at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 15,000 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.32, for a total transaction of $634,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 336,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,225,233.20. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.