Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Director Arjun Murti Purchases 14,053 Shares

Key Points

• Director Arjun Murti purchased 14,053 Liberty Energy shares for approximately $250,003, increasing his direct ownership by 50.98% to 41,621 shares.
• Liberty Energy exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.09 EPS versus $0.08 estimated and $1.19 billion in revenue, up 14% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield, while analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $31.09.

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) Director Arjun Murti bought 14,053 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,002.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $740,437.59. This trade represents a 50.98% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LBRT traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $17.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,027,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,417,107. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.99. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.90 and a 1-year high of $34.48. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.54.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Liberty Energy's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Liberty Energy's payout ratio is 48.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 94,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 4,095 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,992.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the company's stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 11,455 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 0.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 868,978 shares of the company's stock worth $13,756,000 after acquiring an additional 4,955 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 22.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 81,446 shares of the company's stock worth $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 14,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $119,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Liberty Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Liberty Energy from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 target price on Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.09.

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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