LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.80.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ stock opened at $37.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.91. LKQ has a one year low of $35.57 and a one year high of $53.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 15.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LKQ will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,897,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,650,234,000 after acquiring an additional 656,883 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of LKQ by 0.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,977,708 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $478,150,000 after buying an additional 33,212 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in LKQ by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,449,166 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $457,051,000 after buying an additional 134,176 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in LKQ by 9.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,220,571 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $438,108,000 after acquiring an additional 712,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,542,740 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $260,330,000 after acquiring an additional 21,161 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.