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Earnings highlights: Ciena, Staples, Intel, Tivo, Trump, Del Monte and others

Here are a few highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Also, Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) struggles to maintain profitability against competitor Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ). See Timothy Sykes's take on Warren Buffett's annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) shareholders. And Zac Bissonnette is interested in where earnings actually come from.

Upcoming results to watch for include Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM), J. Crew Group Inc. (NYSE: JCG), Jones Soda Co. (NASDAQ: JSDA), Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), and Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Analyst initiations: SVU, SPWR, LKQX and CHTR and PUB

MOST NOTEWORTHY: SuperValu, SunPower, LKQ and Charter Comm were today's noteworthy initiations:
  • Banc of America started shares of SuperValu Inc (NYSE: SVU) with a Sell rating and $34 target as they believe the company will struggle to modernize its store base and reset its pricing to more competitive levels over the next 12 months.
  • William Blair initiated SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) shares with an Outperform rating, citing the company's large market opportunity and strong technology/market positioning.
  • LKQ (NASDAQ: LKQX) was started at Deutsche Bank with a Hold rating and $35 target. The firm believes the company's growth projections are priced into shares.
  • JP Morgan initiated Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) with an Overweight rating, as they expect the company to be able to refinance its maturing debt over the next five years and generate attractive returns.
OTHER INITIATIONS:

LKQ purchasing Keystone Automotive

For 10% higher than its most recent close, Keystone Automotive (NASDAQ: KEYS) has agreed to be acquired by LKQ (NASDAQ: LKQX) for a total purchase price of $811 million. LKQ stepped up and made the move in order to expand its presence in the distribution of replacement auto parts, according to LKQ CEO, Joe Holsten.

LKQ is funding the deal with a credit commitment from Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers(NYSE:LEH). In addition, this $1.09 billion in senior financing will also be used to refinance the company's existing debt, probably at more economic interest rates.

This is a very significant acquisition for LKQ considering the financials behind the deal. During the last twelve months, Keystone has done $713 million in sales. This compares to about $833 million in sales for LKQ. In addition, the acquisition price represents more than half of LKQ's existing market capitalization.

I believe this deal makes sense for LKQ shareholders because I think Keystone's earnings will be more appropriately valued under LKQ. For example, at the close yesterday Keystone was trading for just 1x sales and roughly 17.5x next year's earnings. LKQ on the other hand fetches 1.65x sales and nearly 21x forward earnings. Granted Keystone's operating margins were inferior to those of LKQ, As a result of these factors, I tend to believe that Keystone's earnings and sales will receive a higher multiple valuation as part of Keystone.

LKQ is a very interesting stock at these levels - especially considering this acquisition which should close in the fourth quarter of this year. At only 21x forward earnings with projected growth of 19% over the next five years this seems like a very interesting Growth At A Reasonable Price proposition.

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-154.4810,309.92
NASDAQ-37.612,138.44
S&P 500-19.141,091.49

Last updated: November 28, 2009: 08:15 AM

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