Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Shares Up 4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) were up 4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $18.85 and last traded at $18.7540. 2,094,676 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 4,240,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LBRT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 price target on Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.55.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.03 and its 200-day moving average is $25.87.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In other news, Director Arjun Murti acquired 14,053 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.79 per share, with a total value of $250,002.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 41,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,437.59. This trade represents a 50.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 9,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $258,874.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 773,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,031,377.79. This 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,998 shares of company stock valued at $450,955. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBRT. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Liberty Energy by 901.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,431,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,988,535 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,185,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,394,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $22,152,000. Finally, Situational Awareness LP bought a new position in Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $10,471,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

About Liberty Energy

Liberty Energy Inc is an energy services company that provides specialized equipment, technology and services used in the development of onshore oil and natural gas resources. The company primarily supports exploration and production companies during the well-completion process, with an emphasis on hydraulic fracturing and related operations.

Its services and products include hydraulic fracturing, wireline services, proppant logistics, frac-related equipment, field engineering and operational support.