Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT Shares Sold by Peregrine Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Peregrine Capital Management cut its Liberty Energy stake by 31.6% in Q1, selling 95,528 shares and leaving it with 206,456 shares worth about $5.95 million.
• Liberty Energy reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $0.06 versus a consensus loss estimate and revenue of $1.02 billion, up 4.5% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $32.18.

Peregrine Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 31.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,456 shares of the company's stock after selling 95,528 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Liberty Energy worth $5,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 97,998 shares in the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC grew its stake in Liberty Energy by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 104,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,956,000 after purchasing an additional 41,163 shares in the last quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 94.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP now owns 334,637 shares of the company's stock worth $4,129,000 after purchasing an additional 162,668 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 273,258 shares of the company's stock worth $3,372,000 after purchasing an additional 51,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 168,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 92,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LBRT opened at $24.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.54. Liberty Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.90 and a fifty-two week high of $34.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.19. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $954.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. Liberty Energy's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LBRT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction 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. This represents a 2.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total value of $249,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at $3,046,185.60. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,012 shares of company stock valued at $1,673,803 in the last 90 days. 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.

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.