Brokerages Set LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Target Price at $52.60

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.60.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LKQ shares. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 374,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,795,180.08. The trade was a 1.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,416,300. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its holdings in LKQ by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in LKQ by 31.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in LKQ by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,192 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of LKQ by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 68,790 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,528,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ opened at $42.24 on Friday. LKQ has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.52 and its 200 day moving average is $38.92. The company has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. LKQ’s payout ratio is 45.80%.

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.