Vestcor Inc Purchases 50,000 Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Liberty Energy Inc. by 393.8% in the first quarter, now owning 62,698 shares valued at approximately $993,000.
• Liberty Energy reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.12 earnings per share, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.14, and saw a 10.1% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, with a payment date set for September 18th, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 2.8%.

Vestcor Inc lifted its position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 393.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,698 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $14,447,000 after purchasing an additional 15,596 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Liberty Energy in the first quarter valued at $761,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Liberty Energy in the first quarter valued at $1,110,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 6.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,054,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,566,000 after acquiring an additional 118,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Liberty Energy by 1,279.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,983 shares of the company's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 16,679 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.15.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LBRT traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $11.42. 2,170,139 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,481,779. The business's fifty day moving average price is $12.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 0.67. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.50 and a 52 week high of $23.58.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 5.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.62%.

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.