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

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel owned 0.17% of Liquidity Services worth $1,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in Liquidity Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,749,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Liquidity Services by 9.5% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 881,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,092,000 after acquiring an additional 76,794 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liquidity Services in the third quarter worth $1,311,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Liquidity Services by 102.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 30,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Liquidity Services by 307.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 29,746 shares during the period. 71.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Liquidity Services

In related news, EVP John Daunt sold 4,546 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.68, for a total transaction of $144,017.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,029.12. This trade represents a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total transaction of $1,661,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 103,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,443,585.20. The trade was a 32.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 101,668 shares of company stock valued at $3,331,558 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LQDT shares. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Liquidity Services in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Liquidity Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 21st.

Liquidity Services Trading Down 7.1 %

Liquidity Services stock opened at $34.65 on Monday. Liquidity Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.99 and a 12-month high of $38.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.00 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.62 and a 200 day moving average of $25.64.

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

Liquidity Services Profile

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.