Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Liberty Energy Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a 1-year target price averaging $15.05.
• Institutional investors hold 98.22% of Liberty Energy's stock, indicating strong confidence in the company as several have recently adjusted their positions.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.12 EPS, while its revenue of $1.04 billion exceeded expectations despite a 10.1% year-over-year decline.

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.05.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LBRT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Liberty Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Liberty Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LBRT traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,231,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,451,243. Liberty Energy has a fifty-two week low of $9.50 and a fifty-two week high of $23.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $11.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.63.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 5.29%.Liberty Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 76.0% in the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 46,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 20,041 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 7.4% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 551,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,330,000 after buying an additional 37,901 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 700.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 19,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 17,346 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 59,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 20,957 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $134,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% 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.