Squarepoint Ops LLC Increases Stake in Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,051,488 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 201,839 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $27,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 790,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,596,000 after buying an additional 133,167 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth $36,394,000. Situational Awareness LP bought a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth $10,471,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $842,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the first quarter valued at about $2,071,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Trading Up 3.9%

NYSE:LBRT opened at $21.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.55. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.99 and a 12 month high of $34.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.61.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. Liberty Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is presently 48.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LBRT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price target on Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.84, for a total value of $132,253.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 760,379 shares in the company, valued at $15,085,919.36. This trade represents a 0.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 14,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,002.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $740,437.59. This represents a 50.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,998 shares of company stock worth $450,955. 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.