Royce & Associates LP Has $7.34 Million Stock Position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Liberty Energy Inc. by 50.5% in the first quarter, owning 463,415 shares valued at approximately $7.34 million.
• Liberty Energy reported a net margin of 5.29% for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $0.12, falling short of analyst estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08, expected to be paid on September 18, representing a 2.43% yield based on its annualized payout.

Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 50.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 463,415 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 155,560 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.29% of Liberty Energy worth $7,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LBRT. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 257.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth $120,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth $161,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth $162,000. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $191,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LBRT stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.47. 728,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,475,779. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $12.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.28. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.50 and a 52 week high of $24.43.

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

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Liberty Energy's payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LBRT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $13.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.15.

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.