William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $33.82 Million in LandBridge Company LLC $LB

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LandBridge Company LLC (NYSE:LB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 690,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,817,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.89% of LandBridge as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LandBridge by 110.6% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LandBridge during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LandBridge during the third quarter worth about $63,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of LandBridge by 805.9% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of LandBridge by 13.6% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter.

LandBridge Stock Performance

LB opened at $78.64 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 81.07 and a beta of 0.14. LandBridge Company LLC has a twelve month low of $43.75 and a twelve month high of $85.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $69.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

LandBridge (NYSE:LB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $51.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.72 million. LandBridge had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 15.71%.The business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LandBridge Company LLC will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LandBridge Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. LandBridge’s payout ratio is presently 49.48%.

LandBridge declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 25th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on LB shares. Zacks Research cut shares of LandBridge from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LandBridge in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $66.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of LandBridge in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of LandBridge from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of LandBridge from $57.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LandBridge news, Director Charles L. Watson sold 30,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.07, for a total value of $2,272,467.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 86,920 shares in the company, valued at $6,438,164.40. The trade was a 26.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,350 shares of company stock valued at $3,974,555. Insiders own 70.42% of the company’s stock.

LandBridge Profile

LandBridge Company LLC owns and manages land and resources to support and enhance oil and natural gas development in the United States. It owns surface acres in and around the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico. The company holds a portfolio of oil and gas royalties. It also sells brackish water and other surface composite materials. The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Houston, Texas. LandBridge Company LLC operates as a subsidiary of LandBridge Holdings LLC.