Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 3.71%.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

LBRT stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.22. 3,981,520 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,144,223. Liberty Energy has a twelve month low of $9.90 and a twelve month high of $34.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.17.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on LBRT shares. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Energy news, CFO Michael Stock sold 9,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 1.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total transaction of $249,312.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 89,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,046,185.60. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 54,012 shares of company stock valued at $1,673,803 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LBRT. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,503,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,216,000 after acquiring an additional 946,591 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,074,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,835,000 after purchasing an additional 99,851 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 31,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 916,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,921,000 after purchasing an additional 261,436 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in Liberty Energy by 96.3% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 46,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 22,885 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.