Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $26.42

Key Points

• Analysts rate Liberty Energy a “Moderate Buy”: Eight of 14 analysts recommend buying the stock, while six rate it a hold; the consensus 12-month price target is $26.42.
• Recent results met earnings expectations: Quarterly EPS was $0.06, in line with estimates, while revenue of $1.20 billion topped expectations and increased 26.3% year over year.
• The company raised its dividend: The quarterly payment increased from $0.09 to $0.10 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.40 and a reported 3.2% yield.

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.42.

LBRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $31.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $27.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

LBRT opened at $12.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.72. Liberty Energy has a 12-month low of $11.24 and a 12-month high of $34.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 0.91% and a return on equity of 2.13%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Liberty Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 150.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ron Gusek acquired 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.09 per share, with a total value of $377,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,068,702 shares in the company, valued at $16,126,713.18. This trade represents a 2.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 3,333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total transaction of $55,794.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 750,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,561,361.20. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 42,500 shares of company stock valued at $645,550 and have sold 16,665 shares valued at $315,268. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the second quarter worth $5,660,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the second quarter valued at $3,099,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the second quarter valued at $61,185,000. Arlington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,821,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,051,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,538,000 after acquiring an additional 201,839 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Liberty Energy

Liberty Energy Inc. is a Denver-based oilfield services company that supports onshore oil and natural gas producers, primarily in the United States. Founded in 2011 as Liberty Oilfield Services, the company adopted the Liberty Energy name in 2022. Its core business is hydraulic fracturing, a well-completion technique used to extract oil and natural gas. Liberty also provides related services and equipment, including wireline operations, proppant and logistics solutions, and technologies designed to support wellsite operations.

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