Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Director Ken Babcock Buys 14,500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Ken Babcock bought 14,500 Liberty Energy shares at $15.40 each, investing $223,300 and increasing his direct ownership by 21.09% to 83,258 shares.
• Liberty Energy reported quarterly revenue of $1.20 billion and earnings of $0.06 per share, while revenue increased 26.3% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.09 to $0.10 per share, though analyst sentiment remains mixed; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $26.42.

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) Director Ken Babcock purchased 14,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.40 per share, with a total value of $223,300.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,258 shares in the company, valued at $1,282,173.20. This represents a 21.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of Liberty Energy stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $17.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,422,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,296,409. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.64. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.76 and a 12-month high of $34.48. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 73.19, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.06) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This is a positive change from Liberty Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 150.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LBRT shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Liberty Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $5,660,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,099,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $61,185,000. Arlington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,821,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,071,000. 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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