Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Makes New Investment in Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 34,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $629,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 46,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 0.7% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 145,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 15.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LBRT opened at $33.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.15 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.08 and a 200 day moving average of $22.68. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.90 and a 12 month high of $34.42.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.19. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $954.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 9,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,059.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 27,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,978.72. This represents a 54.25% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $634,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 784,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,918,706.22. This trade represents a 3.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.17.

About Liberty Energy

Liberty Energy Inc provides hydraulic services and related technologies to onshore oil and natural gas exploration, and production companies in North America. The company offers hydraulic fracturing services, including complementary services, such as wireline services, proppant delivery solutions, field gas processing and treating, compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery, data analytics, related goods comprising sand mine operations, and technologies; and well site fueling and logistics. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin.