LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

LKQ has been the topic of several other research reports. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 price objective (down previously from $46.00) on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded LKQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Barclays started coverage on LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Stephens assumed coverage on LKQ in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.33.

LKQ Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ LKQ opened at $33.40 on Friday. LKQ has a 12-month low of $28.13 and a 12-month high of $44.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.91.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.10. LKQ had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. LKQ has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that LKQ will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in LKQ during the first quarter valued at approximately $278,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 2.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,476 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at $1,162,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of LKQ by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 198,250 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $8,434,000 after buying an additional 48,450 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of LKQ by 226.4% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About LKQ

LKQ Corporation is a leading provider of alternative and specialty parts to repair and accessorize automobiles and other vehicles. The company supplies a broad range of replacement components, including recycled original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts, aftermarket parts, refurbished and remanufactured items. Its products support collision repair, mechanical repair and performance enhancement needs across passenger cars, heavy trucks and recreational vehicles.

Through a combination of in-house operations and strategic acquisitions, LKQ has developed a comprehensive product portfolio that extends beyond core replacement parts.