Zacks Investment Management Sells 49,972 Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Zacks Investment Management reduced its stake in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 286,602 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,972 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management owned 0.18% of Liberty Energy worth $5,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Liberty Energy by 45.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Liberty Energy by 4.5% during 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 increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 168.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 62,979 shares of the company's stock worth $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 39,497 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 166,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Liberty Energy by 27.2% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 466,411 shares of the company's stock worth $8,904,000 after purchasing an additional 99,722 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Liberty Energy Trading Down 6.0 %

LBRT stock traded down $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,115,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,487,413. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.57 and a 12 month high of $24.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business's 50 day moving average price is $18.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.17. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 1.71.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 18.50%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Liberty Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 1.75 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from Liberty Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Liberty Energy's payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on LBRT shares. Citigroup lowered Liberty Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Liberty Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets downgraded Liberty Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.89.

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.