Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 156,006 Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,082,239 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 156,006 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $41,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,935,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,089,000 after acquiring an additional 62,924 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 17,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 315.8% during the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 133,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after purchasing an additional 101,144 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 128,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,551,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:LBRT opened at $17.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.51. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.57 and a 12-month high of $24.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liberty Energy news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,936 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $56,253.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,543,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,740,683.32. The trade was a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of Liberty Energy 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 717,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,868,218.48. The trade was a 1.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,936 shares of company stock valued at $1,341,184 over the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Liberty Energy

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.