Willis Investment Counsel Acquires 18,936 Shares of Liquidity Services, Inc. $LQDT

Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 212,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,936 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel owned about 0.68% of Liquidity Services worth $9,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Man Group plc purchased a new position in Liquidity Services in the second quarter valued at about $2,426,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Liquidity Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,457,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Liquidity Services in the second quarter valued at $2,141,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidity Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,127,000. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new stake in Liquidity Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,056,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LQDT. Barrington Research set a $50.00 target price on shares of Liquidity Services in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liquidity Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Zacks Research lowered Liquidity Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Liquidity Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

Liquidity Services Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:LQDT traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $43.59. 30,207 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 192,225. Liquidity Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.67 and a 12 month high of $45.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.65. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.77 and a beta of 1.04.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.11. Liquidity Services had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 6.79%. The business had revenue of $129.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.83 million. Liquidity Services has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.410-0.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Liquidity Services, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Daunt sold 715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $30,566.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,628,176.50. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 2,145 shares of company stock worth $87,959 in the last quarter. 28.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Liquidity Services Profile

Liquidity Services, Inc (NASDAQ: LQDT) operates online marketplaces and related services for managing and selling surplus, returned, and otherwise underutilized assets. The company helps businesses, government agencies, and other organizations recover value from excess inventory and equipment while supporting the reuse and redistribution of goods.

Its marketplace portfolio includes GovDeals, which serves public-sector sellers; Liquidation.com and AllSurplus, which facilitate the sale of surplus and returned merchandise; and Machinio, a search marketplace for used equipment.