Wall Street Zen Upgrades LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) to Buy

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of LKQ in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded LKQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LKQ in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 target price (down previously from $46.00) on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Stephens began coverage on LKQ in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LKQ presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.33.

LKQ Price Performance

Shares of LKQ stock opened at $30.99 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.78. LKQ has a one year low of $28.13 and a one year high of $44.82. The firm has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. LKQ had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 4.99%.The business’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. LKQ has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. On average, analysts expect that LKQ will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of LKQ in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Rossby Financial LCC lifted its holdings in LKQ by 159.4% in the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 882 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in LKQ in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in LKQ by 226.4% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in LKQ by 91.8% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,197 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is 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.