Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an outperform rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Liquidity Services in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Liquidity Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th.

Liquidity Services Stock Performance

LQDT stock opened at $17.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $551.42 million, a P/E ratio of 29.92 and a beta of 1.38. Liquidity Services has a one year low of $12.97 and a one year high of $21.10.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.02). Liquidity Services had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 17.62%. The business had revenue of $71.33 million during the quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidity Services

In other news, Director George H. Ellis sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,535. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidity Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Liquidity Services by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Liquidity Services by 4.8% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 21,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Liquidity Services by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 43,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Liquidity Services by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Liquidity Services by 88.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.15% of the company’s stock.

Liquidity Services Company 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.