LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) Upgraded at StockNews.com

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

LKQ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, LKQ has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.60.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $40.98. 4,141,057 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,061,141. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.72 and its 200 day moving average is $38.96. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.28. LKQ has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $53.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Equities research analysts expect that LKQ will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LKQ news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. This trade represents a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in LKQ by 0.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,977,708 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $478,150,000 after buying an additional 33,212 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of LKQ by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,449,166 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $457,051,000 after purchasing an additional 134,176 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,406,444 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $309,609,000 after purchasing an additional 833,519 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LKQ by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591,553 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $241,643,000 after purchasing an additional 48,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in LKQ by 7.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,020,689 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $240,346,000 after purchasing an additional 411,390 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by 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.