KBC Group NV Buys 2,978 Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 60.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,884 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,978 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 45.1% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 495,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,461,000 after purchasing an additional 154,070 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 61.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,146,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,061,000 after buying an additional 1,193,918 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 872,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,651,000 after buying an additional 37,927 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 168.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 62,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 39,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC grew its position in Liberty Energy by 89.2% in the third quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,682,000 after acquiring an additional 165,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

LBRT stock opened at $17.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.57 and a 12 month high of $24.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.80 and its 200 day moving average is $19.67.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 7.32%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders 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 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 17.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LBRT. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. 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. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Liberty Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.30.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.94, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 717,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,868,218.48. This represents a 1.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,936 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $56,253.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,543,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,740,683.32. The trade was a 0.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,936 shares of company stock valued at $1,341,184. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.