Citigroup Cuts Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Price Target to $27.50

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered Liberty Energy’s price target to $27.50 from $28.50 but maintained a “buy” rating, implying roughly 50% upside from the stock’s $18.32 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with eight Buy ratings and six Holds; the consensus target is $27.54. Other firms have also recently reduced targets, including Piper Sandler and RBC.
• Liberty Energy exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.09 in EPS versus $0.08 expected and $1.19 billion in revenue, up 14% year over year. A company director also purchased about $250,000 of shares, while the CFO sold shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by analysts at Citigroup from $28.50 to $27.50 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup's price target suggests a potential upside of 50.11% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LBRT. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 target price on Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered Liberty Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Liberty Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.54.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of LBRT stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.32. 3,369,366 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,246,932. Liberty Energy has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $34.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $19.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.66.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The business 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 posted $0.12 EPS. Liberty Energy's revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Liberty Energy will post 0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In other news, Director Arjun Murti acquired 14,053 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director owned 41,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,437.59. This represents a 50.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 6,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.84, for a total transaction of $132,253.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 760,379 shares in the company, valued at $15,085,919.36. The trade was a 0.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 79.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Liberty Energy by 120.0% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,200 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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