Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Raised to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen raised Liberty Energy’s rating from “strong sell” to “sell,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $26.42.
• LBRT shares opened at $16.83, down 3.3%, and remain well below their 52-week high of $34.48. The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.06 per share, matching estimates, while revenue rose 26.3% year over year to $1.20 billion.
• Insider activity was mixed: CFO Michael Stock sold shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, while Director Ken Babcock bought 14,500 shares. Institutional investors hold approximately 98.22% of Liberty Energy’s stock.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Liberty Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Liberty Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Liberty Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.42.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 3.3%

LBRT opened at $16.83 on Friday. Liberty Energy has a one year low of $14.76 and a one year high of $34.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 70.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.71. The business's 50 day moving average price is $18.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 2.13% and a net margin of 0.91%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Liberty Energy will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $66,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 753,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,074,260. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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. Also, Director Ken Babcock bought 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.40 per share, with a total value of $223,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,258 shares in the company, valued at $1,282,173.20. This trade represents a 21.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 16,665 shares of company stock worth $319,301 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LBRT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 32,600 shares of the company's stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the period. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.1% during the first quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 32,600 shares of the company's stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Liberty Energy Company Profile

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.

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