Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.10

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share on Friday, December 18th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This is a 11.1% increase from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09.

Liberty Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.5% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Liberty Energy has a payout ratio of 78.3% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities research analysts expect Liberty Energy to earn $0.12 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 300.0%.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE LBRT traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $16.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,456,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,240,821. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.45. Liberty Energy has a 52 week low of $14.76 and a 52 week high of $34.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Liberty Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $28.50 to $27.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.12.

Liberty Energy Company Profile

Liberty Energy Inc is an oilfield services company that provides completion and production services to exploration and production companies. Its primary business is hydraulic fracturing, a well-stimulation technique used to improve the flow of oil and natural gas from unconventional reservoirs.

The company also offers wireline services, well diagnostics, frac data analysis, engineering support, and related technologies designed to help customers plan, execute, and evaluate well-completion operations.