Royce & Associates LP Increases Stake in Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 11% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 581,190 shares worth about $10.7 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Liberty Energy is mixed but generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.42. Seven analysts rate it a Buy and seven rate it a Hold.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting $0.06 EPS versus estimates for a loss and revenue of $1.02 billion versus expectations of $954.7 million. Liberty Energy also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, payable June 18.

Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 581,190 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,732 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.36% of Liberty Energy worth $10,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,583 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,085 shares of the company's stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 46,915 shares of the company's stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 30,781 shares of the company's stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liberty Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.42.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LBRT opened at $30.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.56. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.90 and a 52 week high of $34.48. The company's 50-day moving average price is $30.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $954.71 million. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.56%.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In related news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total value of $249,312.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,046,185.60. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 19,998 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $669,533.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 800,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,796,555. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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. 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.

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