Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 2,197,352 Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 83.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,828,712 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,197,352 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.95% of Liberty Energy worth $96,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LBRT. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 82,223 shares of the company's stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,263 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 54,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,077,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 237.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 29,700 shares of the company's stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 1,423 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LBRT shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Liberty Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Atb Cap Markets raised Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.90.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

LBRT traded down $2.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.98. 5,848,973 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,649,015. The company's 50-day moving average is $16.47 and its 200 day moving average is $18.32. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.18. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.92 and a 52 week high of $24.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is 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.