American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Position in Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 10.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,093,383 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 584,774 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $69,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the second quarter worth about $48,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 281.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 3,193 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:LBRT opened at $17.75 on Thursday. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.50 and a 52 week high of $23.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.05). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 1.69%. The firm had revenue of $947.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Liberty Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is currently 32.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LBRT has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $11.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 19th. Citigroup raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $21.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.80.

Liberty Energy 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.