LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) Short Interest Up 31.0% in February

LKQ Co. (NASDAQ:LKQ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,490,000 shares, an increase of 31.0% from the January 31st total of 6,480,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

LKQ Trading Up 0.1 %

LKQ stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.08. The stock had a trading volume of 196,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,302,257. LKQ has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $53.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.45 and a 200 day moving average of $38.90. The firm has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. LKQ had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that LKQ will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LKQ

In related news, Director Dominick P. Zarcone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $180,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 369,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,352,356.68. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,416,300 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LKQ

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its holdings in LKQ by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 44,169 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of LKQ by 31.2% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,256 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of LKQ by 0.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 103,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,118,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in LKQ by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,192 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in LKQ by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 742 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LKQ. StockNews.com cut shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of LKQ from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of LKQ in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.