LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share by the auto parts company on Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th.

LKQ has increased its dividend payment by an average of 68.7% annually over the last three years. LKQ has a payout ratio of 30.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect LKQ to earn $3.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.9%.

LKQ Stock Performance

LKQ traded down $1.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $40.47. 2,262,033 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,082,402. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.75. LKQ has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $53.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 4.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at LKQ

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.84, for a total transaction of $184,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 374,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,795,180.08. This trade represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $781,500. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on LKQ from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

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.