LKQ’s (LKQ) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Barrington Research

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Barrington Research in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 price target on the auto parts company’s stock. Barrington Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 46.31% from the company’s previous close.

LKQ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on LKQ from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded up $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,196,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,778,788. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 1.29. LKQ has a 1-year low of $35.57 and a 1-year high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.05). LKQ had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 5.03%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that LKQ will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrew C. Clarke acquired 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.70 per share, with a total value of $301,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,604.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other LKQ news, Director Andrew C. Clarke purchased 7,600 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.70 per share, with a total value of $301,720.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,604.30. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Justin L. Jude purchased 2,500 shares of LKQ stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.91 per share, with a total value of $99,775.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,515 shares in the company, valued at $8,281,923.65. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 12,600 shares of company stock valued at $500,870. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LKQ

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in LKQ during the fourth quarter worth $159,324,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in LKQ by 552.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,236,158 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $51,412,000 after buying an additional 1,046,805 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in LKQ by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,307,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $540,398,000 after buying an additional 977,585 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in LKQ by 7.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,944,496 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $496,772,000 after buying an additional 875,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in LKQ by 39.8% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,067,772 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $127,589,000 after buying an additional 873,665 shares in the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.