Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,587,584 shares of the company’s stock after selling 160,775 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 5.75% of Liberty Energy worth $200,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 15.6% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 209,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 28,153 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 114.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 174,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 92,923 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 14.1% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,338,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,732,000 after purchasing an additional 165,400 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 60.2% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,437,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,775,000 after purchasing an additional 539,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Liberty Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $690,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $24.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 15,626 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total value of $325,333.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 789,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,439,076.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total value of $398,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,678,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,335,166.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 15,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total transaction of $325,333.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 789,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,439,076.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,231. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Liberty Energy stock opened at $21.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.80 and its 200 day moving average is $21.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.33 and a 52-week high of $24.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 22.85%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Liberty Energy’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 2.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.22%.

Liberty Energy Company Profile

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.