Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts assign Liberty Energy a “Moderate Buy” rating: Seven of 13 analysts recommend buying the stock, while six rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is $29.55, above its reported opening price of $18.96.
• Liberty Energy exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.09 in earnings per share versus the $0.08 consensus and $1.19 billion in revenue versus the $1.09 billion estimate. Revenue increased 14% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, equivalent to a 1.9% yield, while institutional investors own a substantial 98.22% of outstanding shares.

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six 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 $29.5455.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 target price on Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Liberty Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

LBRT stock opened at $18.96 on Tuesday. Liberty Energy has a 1-year low of $10.69 and a 1-year high of $34.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.06. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.61.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 2.92%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Liberty Energy will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Energy news, Director Arjun Murti acquired 14,053 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,002.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $740,437.59. This represents a 50.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 9,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total transaction of $258,874.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 773,711 shares in the company, valued at $20,031,377.79. This represents a 1.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 19,998 shares of company stock worth $450,955 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LBRT. Situational Awareness LP purchased a new position in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $10,471,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,394,000. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $842,000. Van Den Berg Management I Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $704,000. Finally, Clearline Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Liberty Energy Company Profile

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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