Principal Securities Inc. Buys 1,849 Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,334 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 96.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 237.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Liberty Energy by 604.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 93.2% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Liberty Energy stock opened at $17.86 on Monday. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.57 and a 12-month high of $24.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.63.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 7.32%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Liberty Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In other news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 16,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.23, for a total transaction of $291,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,562,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,720,080.99. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.94, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 717,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,868,218.48. This trade represents a 1.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,936 shares of company stock valued at $1,341,184 in the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Liberty Energy 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.