Empyrean Capital Partners LP Reduces Holdings in Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Empyrean Capital Partners LP lowered its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 66.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 400,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800,000 shares during the period. Empyrean Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $11,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LBRT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,096,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,060,000 after purchasing an additional 97,998 shares during the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 104,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after buying an additional 41,163 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its position in Liberty Energy by 122.4% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 168,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,116,000 after buying an additional 92,900 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new position in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth $629,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 790,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,596,000 after acquiring an additional 133,167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LBRT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price objective on Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Liberty Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.09.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In related news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total value of $249,312.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,046,185.60. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 19,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $669,533.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 800,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,796,555. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,012 shares of company stock valued at $1,673,803. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of LBRT opened at $16.85 on Tuesday. Liberty Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.90 and a fifty-two week high of $34.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 2.92%.The business’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

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. 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.