Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 2.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,631,360 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,909 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $53,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LBRT. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 96.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 237.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 45.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 82.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In other Liberty Energy news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $56,253.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,543,877 shares in the company, valued at $48,740,683.32. The trade was a 0.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total value of $86,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 725,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,480,812.47. This trade represents a 0.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 87,973 shares of company stock worth $1,641,235. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LBRT stock opened at $18.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.71. Liberty Energy Inc. has a one year low of $16.57 and a one year high of $24.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.94.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.10). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 8.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 15.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LBRT shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Atb Cap Markets raised Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut Liberty Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.50.

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.