Vestcor Inc Decreases Holdings in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Vestcor Inc lowered its stake in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 66.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,698 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LBRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,146,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,061,000 after buying an additional 1,193,918 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 168.2% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 62,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 39,497 shares in the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 89.2% in the 3rd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,682,000 after purchasing an additional 165,000 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,237,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,709,000 after purchasing an additional 166,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter worth $498,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Liberty Energy stock opened at $14.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.86 and a 52 week high of $24.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.80.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. Equities analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 717,292 shares in the company, valued at $12,868,218.48. This trade represents a 1.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $808,350. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LBRT shares. Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.30.

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.