Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 202,930 Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp massively increased its stake in Liberty Energy, buying 202,930 additional shares in the first quarter and bringing its total holding to 204,439 shares worth about $5.9 million.
• Liberty Energy’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.06 versus an expected loss and revenue of $1.02 billion, up 4.5% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, while analysts currently maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a price target of about $32.09.

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 13,448.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,439 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 202,930 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.13% of Liberty Energy worth $5,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth $26,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 32,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 5.2% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 20,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the first quarter valued at about $253,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LBRT opened at $23.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.49 and a 200-day moving average of $27.04. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.90 and a 12 month high of $34.48. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.54.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.71 million. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LBRT. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 9,999 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $258,874.11. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 773,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,031,377.79. This trade represents a 1.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 value of $249,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,185.60. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,012 shares of company stock worth $1,673,803. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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. 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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