Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Shares Acquired by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,764 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,872 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its position in Liberty Energy by 315.8% during the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 133,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after buying an additional 101,144 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 128,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,551,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 31,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 6,777 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 165,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 71,526 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LBRT opened at $17.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.63. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.57 and a 52 week high of $24.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. On average, equities analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is 17.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.49, for a total value of $184,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 705,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,039,277.43. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $56,253.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,543,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 68,936 shares of company stock valued at $1,341,184 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LBRT. Barclays lowered their price target on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded Liberty Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Five 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.30.

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.