South Dakota Investment Council Increases Stock Position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its stake in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 225.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,692 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 117,505 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council owned 0.10% of Liberty Energy worth $2,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBRT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 912,636 shares of the company's stock worth $14,447,000 after acquiring an additional 15,596 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $761,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $1,110,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,054,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,566,000 after purchasing an additional 118,878 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,279.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 16,679 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $13.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.65.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 2.0%

LBRT stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $12.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,463,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,384,763. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.16 and a 200 day moving average of $14.56. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.50 and a 12 month high of $24.43.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.19%.

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.