Towle & Co. Has $13.46 Million Holdings in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Towle & Co. cut its stake in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 22.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 676,498 shares of the company's stock after selling 201,106 shares during the period. Liberty Energy makes up about 2.3% of Towle & Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Towle & Co. owned 0.41% of Liberty Energy worth $13,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $2,779,000. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $3,339,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Liberty Energy by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 10,896 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its position in Liberty Energy by 266.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 15,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $2,557,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LBRT traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.64. 2,436,741 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,773,930. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.50. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.50 and a 12 month high of $24.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 7.32%. The firm had revenue of $977.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on LBRT. Citigroup dropped their target price on Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $13.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $11.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on Liberty Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Liberty Energy from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.55.

Liberty Energy Company 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.