Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 4.9% in the first quarter, adding 431,269 shares to bring its total to 9.23 million shares worth about $265.9 million.
• Liberty Energy reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.09 versus estimates of $0.08 and revenue of $1.19 billion versus expectations of $1.09 billion.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $32.09.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,233,668 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 431,269 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 5.66% of Liberty Energy worth $265,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 79.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 23,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,583 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

NYSE LBRT opened at $25.22 on Thursday. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.90 and a 52 week high of $34.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.21.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 1.41%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.56%.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In other news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total transaction of $249,312.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at $3,046,185.60. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 19,998 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 800,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,796,555. This trade 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 sold 54,012 shares of company stock worth $1,673,803 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Liberty Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price objective on Liberty Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.09.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LBRT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.