Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Has $623,000 Stake in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,299 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,777 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Liberty Energy were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 237.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 604.9% in the fourth 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. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Liberty Energy by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 2,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Liberty Energy by 24.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total transaction of $416,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 680,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,161,909.74. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $808,350 in the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LBRT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Atb Cap Markets raised Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.30.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

NYSE:LBRT opened at $14.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.80. Liberty Energy Inc. has a one year low of $13.86 and a one 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.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. Equities analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

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.