Short Interest in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Declines By 7.6%

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,030,000 shares, a decrease of 7.6% from the September 30th total of 4,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on LKQ. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, October 25th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, LKQ presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in LKQ by 5.3% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,572 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 4.6% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 5,249 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,211 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 33.5% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 103,156 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $4,118,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company's stock.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.79. The company had a trading volume of 5,032,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,922,332. LKQ has a 52-week low of $35.57 and a 52-week high of $53.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company's 50 day moving average price is $39.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.66. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The company's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LKQ will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. LKQ's payout ratio is 44.78%.

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.