LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Short Interest Update

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,000,000 shares, an increase of 20.2% from the August 31st total of 4,990,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Andrew C. Clarke purchased 7,600 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.70 per share, for a total transaction of $301,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,604.30. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other LKQ news, CEO Justin L. Jude bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.91 per share, for a total transaction of $99,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,281,923.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Andrew C. Clarke bought 7,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.70 per share, with a total value of $301,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,604.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 12,600 shares of company stock worth $500,870 over the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of LKQ in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 900 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of LKQ by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 825 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at $56,000. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LKQ Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.45 on Monday, reaching $39.92. 1,738,721 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,838,547. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.29. 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.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. LKQ’s payout ratio is currently 38.96%.

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.