Citigroup Upgrades Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Citigroup has upgraded Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, setting a price target of $21, indicating a potential upside of 32.03% from its current price.
• Despite the upgrade from Citigroup, the stock has seen mixed ratings from other analysts, with some firms downgrading the stock and others maintaining or adjusting price targets.
• Liberty Energy recently reported earnings that missed analysts' estimates, with a loss of $0.06 per share for the quarter and a 16.8% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup's target price points to a potential upside of 32.03% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LBRT. Wall Street Zen downgraded Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays set a $14.00 price objective on Liberty Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $16.00 price objective on Liberty Energy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.70.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of LBRT opened at $15.91 on Tuesday. Liberty Energy has a 52-week low of $9.50 and a 52-week high of $23.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.74.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.05). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.69% and a net margin of 4.76%.The firm had revenue of $947.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.05 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The company's revenue was down 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBRT. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 213.7% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter worth $50,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Liberty Energy by 281.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 3,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

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.

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