Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.90.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Liberty Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.51, for a total value of $97,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 700,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,661,038.57. This trade represents a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $808,350. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 237.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 604.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 257.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 176.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 2,184 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

LBRT opened at $16.21 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 1.58. Liberty Energy has a 52 week low of $13.86 and a 52 week high of $24.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 7.32%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.11%.

Liberty Energy Company Profile

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.