Short Interest in LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Decreases By 7.6%

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,030,000 shares, a decline of 7.6% from the September 30th total of 4,360,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LKQ. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in LKQ in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in LKQ in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in LKQ by 94.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,010 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in LKQ in the 1st quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in LKQ by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of LKQ from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of LKQ from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LKQ from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKQ traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.79. 5,032,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,922,332. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.66. LKQ has a one year low of $35.57 and a one year high of $53.68. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 1.28.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 15.33%. LKQ’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that LKQ will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

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.