South Dakota Investment Council Purchases 23,400 Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 25.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,148 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,400 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned 0.07% of Liberty Energy worth $2,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,546,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,522,000 after acquiring an additional 893,563 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 93.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,210,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221,588 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,244,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,568,000 after acquiring an additional 778,111 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,241,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,505,000 after acquiring an additional 247,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,116,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,200,000 after acquiring an additional 263,823 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

LBRT stock opened at $22.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.62 and a 12 month high of $23.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.81.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 26.46%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Liberty Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 2.55 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, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is presently 10.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Monday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.30.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $405,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,830,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,372,248.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $405,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,830,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,372,248.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ryan T. Gosney sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $123,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 140,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,884,473. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 98,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,077,491. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.