StockNews.com Downgrades LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on LKQ. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,532,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,301,419. The company has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.71. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $38.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.85.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LKQ will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. LKQ's payout ratio is 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In other news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total value of $416,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 359,462 shares in the company, valued at $14,975,186.92. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of LKQ by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of LKQ by 94.2% in the third 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. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 31.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.