American Century Companies Inc. Increases Position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,178,089 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 505,634 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.17% of Liberty Energy worth $102,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LBRT. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Liberty Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 82,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 11,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 7.3% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 54,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 237.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of LBRT opened at $15.08 on Tuesday. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.86 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.57. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 1.58.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Atb Cap Markets raised Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.80.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total transaction of $416,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 680,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,161,909.74. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $808,350. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

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.