LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Barrington Research

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by equities researchers at Barrington Research in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 price objective on the auto parts company’s stock. Barrington Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 23.03% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LKQ has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.50.

LKQ Price Performance

LKQ stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.77. 165,550 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,514,951. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.36. The company has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ has a twelve month low of $41.49 and a twelve month high of $59.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The auto parts company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.08. LKQ had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The company had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that LKQ will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.97, for a total value of $10,394,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its position in LKQ by 94.1% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 497 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in LKQ in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in LKQ in the third quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in LKQ by 81.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in LKQ by 228.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 647 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.