Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.4167.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LBRT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price 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.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LBRT opened at $31.91 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07, a P/E/G ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.56. Liberty Energy has a fifty-two week low of $9.90 and a fifty-two week high of $34.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.68.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $954.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.04 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Liberty Energy will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 19,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $669,533.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 800,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,796,555. This trade represents a 2.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 187,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,403,000 after purchasing an additional 10,194 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $7,626,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $547,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.