LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Shares Down 0.7% – Here’s Why

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) shares dropped 0.7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $38.75 and last traded at $39.02. Approximately 239,966 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,930,734 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LKQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of LKQ in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, LKQ has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

LKQ Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.72. The company has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 1.29.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 4.90%. LKQ’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that LKQ Co. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LKQ during the 2nd quarter worth $3,839,000. Addenda Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in LKQ during the 2nd quarter worth $6,419,000. TCW Group Inc. purchased a new stake in LKQ during the 2nd quarter worth $6,601,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in LKQ by 3,683.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 274,577 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $11,420,000 after purchasing an additional 267,320 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in LKQ by 165.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,940 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,454,000 after buying an additional 28,623 shares during the last quarter. 95.63% of the stock is 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.