Comerica Bank Reduces Stock Position in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Comerica Bank lessened its stake in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,558 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $1,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Liberty Energy by 604.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Liberty Energy by 257.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 176.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 2,184 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LBRT. Barclays lowered their price target on Liberty Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut Liberty Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $24.00 to $19.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Liberty Energy from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Liberty Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Monday, April 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.05.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:LBRT opened at $12.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.50 and a 1 year high of $24.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.78.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 7.32%. The business had revenue of $977.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $960.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.19%.

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.