Barclays Reiterates Equal Weight Rating for Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT)

Key Points

• Barclays has downgraded Liberty Energy from an "overweight" to an "equal weight" rating, setting a target price of $12.00, which indicates a potential downside of 2.47% from the current price.
• Several other research firms have also adjusted their ratings and price targets for Liberty Energy, with current consensus suggesting a Moderate Buy rating and a target price of $14.85.
• Liberty Energy's stock showed a 2.1% rise on the day, despite reporting earnings that missed estimates, with a revenue decline of 10.1% compared to the previous year.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating restated by Barclays in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $12.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $14.00. Barclays's price target points to a potential downside of 2.47% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liberty Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.85.

Liberty Energy Trading Up 2.1%

LBRT stock opened at $12.30 on Monday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $11.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Liberty Energy has a 52-week low of $9.50 and a 52-week high of $23.58. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 57.9% during the third quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 75,485 shares of the company's stock worth $931,000 after buying an additional 27,675 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 36.0% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 138,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 36,618 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position 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 last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 37,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17,346 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.