Bank of America Upgrades Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) to “Buy”

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) was upgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America‘s price target points to a potential upside of 14.19% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on LBRT. Wall Street Zen raised Liberty Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.08.

Liberty Energy Trading Up 1.8%

LBRT stock opened at $27.15 on Tuesday. Liberty Energy has a one year low of $9.50 and a one year high of $27.77. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $880.59 million. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 1.24%. Liberty Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In related news, insider R Sean Elliott sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total value of $635,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 343,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,716,010. This trade represents a 6.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $634,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 784,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,918,706.22. The trade was a 3.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBRT. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Liberty Energy by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 94,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 4,095 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,992.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 11,455 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 868,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,756,000 after buying an additional 4,955 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 22.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 81,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 14,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Liberty Energy by 1,410.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 32,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 30,208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Company 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. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin.