Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Liberty Energy, with seven buy ratings and six holds among 13 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $31.09, though some firms recently lowered their targets.
• Liberty Energy reported quarterly EPS of $0.09, topping the $0.08 consensus, while revenue rose 14% year over year to $1.19 billion. Shares opened at $18.65, well below their 52-week high of $34.48.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.36 payout and a 1.9% yield. An insider director also purchased roughly $250,000 of stock, while other insiders sold shares during the quarter.

Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.0909.

LBRT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on 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. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 14,053 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,002.87. Following the transaction, the director 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 19,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $669,533.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 800,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,796,555. This trade represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,012 shares of company stock worth $1,673,803. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 79.6% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the first quarter worth $28,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE LBRT opened at $18.65 on Monday. Liberty Energy has a 1 year low of $9.90 and a 1 year high of $34.48. The firm's 50-day moving average is $25.69 and its 200-day moving average is $27.15. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.54.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. Liberty Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Liberty Energy will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.65%.

Liberty Energy Company Profile

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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