Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,312 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,521 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.08% of Liberty Energy worth $2,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP grew its position in Liberty Energy by 237.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,401 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 604.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 176.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 2,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,978 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.94, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 717,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $808,350. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Liberty Energy stock opened at $16.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.51. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.86 and a 1 year high of $24.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LBRT has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.90.

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.