Islay Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $850,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP increased its position in Liberty Energy by 237.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 257.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 604.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Liberty Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 2,184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LBRT stock opened at $10.98 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.47 and a 200 day moving average of $18.32. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.91 and a 1 year high of $24.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.18.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is 17.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.94, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 717,292 shares in the company, valued at $12,868,218.48. This represents a 1.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LBRT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Liberty Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $24.00 to $19.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Liberty Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Liberty Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.90.

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.