Equitable Trust Co. Raises Stock Position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Equitable Trust Co. lifted its position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 27.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,764 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Liberty Energy by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,115,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640,119 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 15.9% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,012,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,866,000 after acquiring an additional 963,068 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,662,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,193,000 after acquiring an additional 176,887 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its stake in Liberty Energy by 20.4% in the third quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 4,124,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,408,000 after acquiring an additional 699,500 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,779,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,173,000 after acquiring an additional 207,527 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LBRT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised Liberty Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays cut their price target on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.30.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other 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 value of $416,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 680,207 shares in the company, valued at $14,161,909.74. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 16,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,562,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,720,080.99. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,936 shares of company stock worth $1,341,184. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LBRT opened at $17.75 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.71 and its 200 day moving average is $19.53. 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 1 year low of $16.57 and a 1 year high of $24.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

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.