Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.1818.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LBRT. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price objective on Liberty Energy in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, June 26th.

Liberty Energy Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of LBRT opened at $24.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.78. Liberty Energy has a twelve month low of $9.90 and a twelve month high of $34.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.19. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Energy news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total transaction of $249,312.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,046,185.60. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 9,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total transaction of $258,874.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 773,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,031,377.79. This trade represents a 1.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 54,012 shares of company stock valued at $1,673,803 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,096,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,060,000 after buying an additional 97,998 shares during the period. Round Rock Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 104,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 41,163 shares during the period. Aventail Capital Group LP raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 94.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP now owns 334,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,129,000 after acquiring an additional 162,668 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 168,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 92,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callodine Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 2,089,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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. 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.