Weiss Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 30,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $587,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LBRT. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 45.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 495,578 shares of the company's stock worth $9,461,000 after buying an additional 154,070 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 872,215 shares of the company's stock worth $16,651,000 after buying an additional 37,927 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 168.2% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 62,979 shares of the company's stock worth $1,202,000 after buying an additional 39,497 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 8.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,237,247 shares of the company's stock worth $42,709,000 after buying an additional 166,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 27.2% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 466,411 shares of the company's stock worth $8,904,000 after buying an additional 99,722 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LBRT traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $17.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,582,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,520,164. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.57 and a 52 week high of $24.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.71. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $18.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.15.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 8.02%. The company's revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. 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 payout ratio is currently 15.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $25.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.23, for a total value of $288,450.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 730,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,041,880.61. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.23, for a total transaction of $291,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,562,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,720,080.99. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,037 shares of company stock valued at $2,088,232. Insiders own 3.60% 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.