Willis Investment Counsel Grows Stock Position in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT)

Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Liquidity Services were worth $1,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LQDT. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liquidity Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Liquidity Services by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 35,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new position in Liquidity Services in the 4th quarter valued at $226,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Liquidity Services by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. 71.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liquidity Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LQDT opened at $34.65 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.64. Liquidity Services, Inc. has a one year low of $13.99 and a one year high of $38.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.00 and a beta of 1.36.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Liquidity Services had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 5.50%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidity Services

In other Liquidity Services news, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total value of $1,661,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 103,660 shares in the company, valued at $3,443,585.20. This trade represents a 32.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jorge Celaya sold 16,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total value of $564,014.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,146,032.80. This represents a 32.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 101,668 shares of company stock worth $3,331,558 over the last quarter. Insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Liquidity Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 21st. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

About Liquidity Services

Liquidity Services, Inc provides e-commerce marketplaces, self-directed auction listing tools, and value-added services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: GovDeals, Retail Supply Chain Group (RSCG), Capital Assets Group (CAG), and Machinio. Its marketplaces include liquidation.com that enable corporations to sell surplus and salvage consumer goods and retail capital assets; GovDeals marketplace, which provides self-directed service solutions in which sellers list their own assets that enables local and state government entities, and commercial businesses located in the United States and Canada to sell surplus and salvage assets; and AllSurplus, a centralized marketplace that connects global buyer base with assets from across the network of marketplaces in a single destination.