LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Short Interest Update

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of 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. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LKQ

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LKQ during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LKQ in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in LKQ by 94.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,010 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in LKQ by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in LKQ by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 1,211 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LKQ shares. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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 reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ 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 note on Monday. Six 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 price target of $53.80.

LKQ Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $36.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.66. LKQ has a fifty-two week low of $35.57 and a fifty-two week high of $53.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LKQ will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.78%.

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.