Atom Investors LP Makes New $9.48 Million Investment in Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Key Points

• Atom Investors LP disclosed a new stake in Liberty Energy, buying 513,742 shares valued at about $9.48 million. The position makes LBRT its 17th largest holding and about 0.32% of the company.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but constructive: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus on Liberty Energy, with seven Buy ratings and six Hold ratings. The average price target is $32.18, above the recent share price.
• Liberty Energy recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.06 versus an expected loss and revenue of $1.02 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share.

Atom Investors LP bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 513,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,484,000. Liberty Energy accounts for 0.8% of Atom Investors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Atom Investors LP owned about 0.32% of Liberty Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,583 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,085 shares of the company's stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 63,776 shares of the company's stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LBRT shares. Barclays upped their target price on Liberty Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price target on Liberty Energy in a report on Monday, April 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In other Liberty Energy news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total transaction of $249,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at $3,046,185.60. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 19,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $669,533.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 800,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,796,555. This represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 44,013 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,929 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LBRT opened at $27.34 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.51. Liberty Energy Inc. has a one year low of $9.90 and a one year high of $34.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.71 million. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 3.71%.Liberty Energy's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.56%.

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. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin.

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