Blue Trust Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 604.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,460 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $47,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,082,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,416,000 after purchasing an additional 156,006 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,935,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,089,000 after acquiring an additional 62,924 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 17,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 315.8% in the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 133,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,649,000 after purchasing an additional 101,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 54,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,077,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LBRT has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.30.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of LBRT opened at $17.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.24. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.57 and a 1-year high of $24.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total transaction of $416,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 680,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,161,909.74. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.23, for a total value of $291,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,562,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,720,080.99. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.