Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Shares Bought by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 727,381 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,567 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.45% of Liberty Energy worth $14,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LBRT. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Liberty Energy by 83.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,828,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,197,352 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,146,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193,918 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Liberty Energy by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,178,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,992,000 after acquiring an additional 505,634 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $8,140,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $6,792,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on LBRT. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.94, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 717,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,868,218.48. This trade represents a 1.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

LBRT opened at $11.39 on Wednesday. Liberty Energy Inc. has a one year low of $9.50 and a one year high of $24.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.77.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 7.32%. Analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

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.