Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 97,998 Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,096,443 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,998 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Liberty Energy worth $334,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LBRT. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 213.7% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,163.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Liberty Energy news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total value of $249,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,185.60. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 9,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.79 per share, with a total value of $250,059.84. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,978.72. This represents a 54.25% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 2.3%

LBRT opened at $31.72 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.86 and a beta of 0.56. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.90 and a 1-year high of $34.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.24.

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

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LBRT. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Liberty Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.