Founders Financial Securities LLC Purchases Shares of 123,172 Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Key Points

• Founders Financial Securities LLC opened a new position in Liberty Energy, buying 123,172 shares valued at about $2.27 million in the fourth quarter, according to its latest 13F filing.
• Liberty Energy reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.06 versus an expected loss of $0.13 and revenue of $1.02 billion, up 4.5% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, payable June 18, for an annualized yield of about 1.2%. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a price target of $30.42.

Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 123,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,274,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Liberty Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,096,443 shares of the company's stock worth $334,060,000 after purchasing an additional 97,998 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 78.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,575,840 shares of the company's stock worth $105,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,771,724 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 28.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,809,390 shares of the company's stock worth $96,368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716,007 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 21.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,967,041 shares of the company's stock worth $34,062,000 after purchasing an additional 529,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 1,529.2% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,753,357 shares of the company's stock worth $33,976,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Liberty Energy Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of LBRT opened at $29.27 on Monday. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.90 and a 12-month high of $34.48. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $30.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.94. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.51.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.19. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 3.71%.The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Liberty Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised Liberty Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.42.

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.

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.