Jennison Associates LLC Sells 33,425 Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Key Points

• Jennison Associates reduced its stake in Liberty Energy by 39.5%, selling 33,425 shares and holding 51,175 shares (~$945,000); institutional ownership is very high at 98.22%, with other large funds (Franklin, Balyasny, American Century) materially increasing positions while insiders also sold shares.
• Analysts are split—seven Buy and seven Hold—resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.17, though several firms recently raised targets (UBS $40, Stifel $37, Morgan Stanley $36).
• Liberty Energy beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.06 vs. -$0.13 est.; revenue $1.02B vs. $954.7M est.) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 (annualized $0.36, ~1.1% yield).

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 39.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,175 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,425 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LBRT. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 78.5% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings 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 valued at $33,976,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584,359 shares during the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy in the second quarter valued at about $23,653,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Energy in the third quarter valued at about $22,336,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted 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 valued at $96,368,000 after buying an additional 1,716,007 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LBRT. Barclays boosted their target price on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In related news, insider R Sean Elliott sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total transaction of $635,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 343,150 shares in the company, valued at $8,716,010. This trade represents a 6.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $634,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 784,819 shares in the company, valued at $19,918,706.22. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Liberty Energy stock opened at $32.65 on Monday. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.90 and a 1 year high of $34.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.83. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $954.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. Liberty Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Liberty Energy's payout ratio is presently 39.56%.

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. 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.