LandBridge Company LLC (NYSE:LB) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give LandBridge an average recommendation of "Hold" from 10 covering firms (2 sell, 5 hold, 3 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $76.
• Insider activity: Director Charles L. Watson sold 13,000 shares on March 6 and insiders have sold 53,350 shares in the last three months, although corporate insiders still own 70.42% of the company.
• Corporate moves: the Board approved a $50 million buyback program (up to 1% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share (annualized $0.48, yield ~0.7%).

Shares of LandBridge Company LLC (NYSE:LB - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $76.00.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on LandBridge from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of LandBridge from $57.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of LandBridge from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LandBridge in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of LandBridge from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LandBridge news, Director Charles L. Watson sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $975,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 64,250 shares in the company, valued at $4,818,750. This represents a 16.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 53,350 shares of company stock valued at $3,974,555 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 70.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of LandBridge

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its stake in LandBridge by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 6,861,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,714,000 after buying an additional 1,330,099 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in LandBridge in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,817,000. DF Dent & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in LandBridge in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,506,000. Cortland Associates Inc. MO boosted its position in shares of LandBridge by 172.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO now owns 412,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,004,000 after purchasing an additional 260,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of LandBridge by 1,957.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 214,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,522,000 after purchasing an additional 204,331 shares in the last quarter.

LandBridge Stock Performance

Shares of LB stock opened at $66.34 on Friday. LandBridge has a 12-month low of $43.75 and a 12-month high of $87.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 4.87 and a quick ratio of 4.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.58 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.11.

LandBridge announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

LandBridge Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from LandBridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. LandBridge's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

About LandBridge

LandBridge Company LLC owns and manages land and resources to support and enhance oil and natural gas development in the United States. It owns surface acres in and around the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico. The company holds a portfolio of oil and gas royalties. It also sells brackish water and other surface composite materials. The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Houston, Texas. LandBridge Company LLC operates as a subsidiary of LandBridge Holdings LLC.

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