Empyrean Capital Partners LP Invests $22.15 Million in Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,200,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,152,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LBRT opened at $27.19 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.51. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.90 and a 52-week high of $34.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $954.71 million. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.04 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.18.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total transaction of $249,312.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 89,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,046,185.60. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $103,323.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 783,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,295,010. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,013 shares of company stock worth $1,414,929. Insiders own 2.00% 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. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin.