Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Makes New $1.94 Million Investment in Liberty Energy Inc. $LBRT

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC opened a new position in Liberty Energy, buying 67,200 shares worth about $1.94 million in the first quarter.
• Liberty Energy reported a strong second quarter, with EPS of $0.09 beating estimates and revenue of $1.19 billion, up 14% year over year.
• The stock has been under pressure despite the earnings beat, as the company also raised its full-year capex outlook, which may weigh on near-term free cash flow and investor sentiment.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 67,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 54.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 983,706 shares of the company's stock worth $28,331,000 after buying an additional 346,239 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 456.9% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 19,976 shares of the company's stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 16,389 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,230 shares of the company's stock worth $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 33,356 shares of the company's stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Liberty Energy by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Key Liberty Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Liberty Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Liberty Energy beat second-quarter expectations, reporting $0.09 EPS on $1.19 billion in revenue, with revenue up 14% year over year. The company also posted net income of $43 million and adjusted EBITDA of $151 million, which supports the case that core demand remains healthy. Liberty Energy Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial and Operational Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a strategic joint venture with PowerBridge to help develop a planned 2 GW powered data center campus in Texas, which could open a new growth avenue tied to rising power demand from AI/data centers. Liberty Energy and PowerBridge Form Strategic Joint Venture to Support Powered Data Center Campus Development
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted unusually high options trading and a Zacks downgrade from “strong-buy” to “hold,” suggesting sentiment has become more cautious despite the earnings beat. Tickerreport.com article
• Negative Sentiment: Liberty Energy raised its full-year capital expenditure outlook, which likely spooked investors by signaling heavier spending ahead and potentially lower near-term free cash flow. Liberty Energy plunges after hiking full-year capex outlook

Liberty Energy Trading Down 21.5%

Shares of LBRT opened at $19.73 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $27.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.22. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Liberty Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.90 and a twelve month high of $34.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Liberty Energy's payout ratio is 39.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Liberty Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 19,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $669,533.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 800,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,796,555. This represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total value of $249,312.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,046,185.60. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,012 shares of company stock worth $1,673,803. Insiders own 2.00% 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. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin.

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