Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Cut to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

LBRT has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Liberty Energy from $28.50 to $27.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Zacks Research lowered Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Liberty Energy in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised Liberty Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.42.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Liberty Energy stock opened at $16.06 on Friday. Liberty Energy has a 12-month low of $14.76 and a 12-month high of $34.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.93, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 2.13% and a net margin of 0.91%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This is an increase from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 150.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $66,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 753,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,074,260. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,665 shares of company stock valued at $319,301. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 79.6% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 32,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 32,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 5.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Liberty Energy

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.