LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Given “Buy” Rating at Roth Mkm

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Roth Mkm in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $65.00 price target on the auto parts company’s stock. Roth Mkm’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 54.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LKQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LKQ from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.80.

LKQ Trading Down 13.9 %

NASDAQ LKQ traded down $6.81 on Tuesday, hitting $42.12. 3,398,272 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,554,927. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.36.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto parts company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.13). LKQ had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that LKQ will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, CEO Dominick P. Zarcone sold 200,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $10,394,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,087,548.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LKQ

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of LKQ in the 4th quarter worth about $159,324,000. Boston Partners raised its position in LKQ by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,507,873 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $358,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351,389 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of LKQ by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,907,659 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $490,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,122 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of LKQ by 95.1% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,403,053 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $114,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of LKQ by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,307,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $540,398,000 after acquiring an additional 977,585 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.