Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Holdings in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 80.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,649 shares of the company's stock after selling 505,820 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Liberty Energy worth $2,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBRT. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 83.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,828,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,197,352 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 61.2% in 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,178,089 shares of the company's stock worth $102,992,000 after acquiring an additional 505,634 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $8,140,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $6,792,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.94, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 717,292 shares in the company, valued at $12,868,218.48. This represents a 1.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

LBRT traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.05. 5,368,809 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,744,352. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 1.18. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.50 and a 52-week high of $24.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company's fifty day moving average price is $14.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.64.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $977.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $960.64 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LBRT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $11.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.40.

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.