83,156 Shares in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Purchased by CenterBook Partners LP

Key Points

• CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy, purchasing 83,156 shares valued at approximately $1.32 million, which constitutes 0.05% of the company.
• Several institutional investors, including Principal Financial Group and GAMMA Investing LLC, also modified their positions in Liberty Energy during the first quarter, indicating increased interest in the company.
• Analyst ratings for Liberty Energy have shifted, with Barclays and Citigroup lowering their price targets, while the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $15.15.

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 83,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,316,000. CenterBook Partners LP owned about 0.05% of Liberty Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 6.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,443,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $291,967,000 after buying an additional 1,128,491 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,337,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,147,698 shares of the company's stock worth $42,718,000 after buying an additional 480,957 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,570,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,792,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LBRT traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $11.36. 1,034,617 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,460,880. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.50 and a 52-week high of $23.58. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $12.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.54.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 5.29%. Liberty Energy's quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Liberty Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.15.

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.