Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Has $29.05 Million Stock Holdings in LandBridge Company LLC $LB

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of LandBridge Company LLC (NYSE:LB) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 592,891 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,128 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in LandBridge were worth $29,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LB. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LandBridge by 110.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of LandBridge during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LandBridge during the 3rd quarter worth about $63,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of LandBridge by 805.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of LandBridge by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other LandBridge news, Director Charles L. Watson sold 30,680 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.07, for a total transaction of $2,272,467.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 86,920 shares in the company, valued at $6,438,164.40. This represents a 26.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,350 shares of company stock worth $3,974,555. Corporate insiders own 70.42% of the company’s stock.

LandBridge Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of LB opened at $67.96 on Wednesday. LandBridge Company LLC has a 52 week low of $43.75 and a 52 week high of $87.60. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.06 and a beta of 0.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a current ratio of 3.15.

LandBridge (NYSE:LB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.44). LandBridge had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 4.34%. The company had revenue of $51.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that LandBridge Company LLC will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

LandBridge declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

LandBridge Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. LandBridge’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LB. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of LandBridge in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LandBridge in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of LandBridge from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of LandBridge from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of LandBridge from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.17.

LandBridge Profile

LandBridge Company LLC owns and manages land and resources to support and enhance oil and natural gas development in the United States. It owns surface acres in and around the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico. The company holds a portfolio of oil and gas royalties. It also sells brackish water and other surface composite materials. The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Houston, Texas. LandBridge Company LLC operates as a subsidiary of LandBridge Holdings LLC.