Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Key Points

• Liberty Energy reported earnings of $0.12 per share for the quarter, missing analyst expectations of $0.14 by $0.02, and experienced a 10.1% decline in revenue year-over-year, totaling $1.04 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.43%, reflecting a payout ratio of 24.62%.
• Institutional ownership stands at 98.22%, with notable stake increases from recently active large investors, indicating strong interest in the company.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 6.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:LBRT traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.49. 1,460,311 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,481,004. 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 company has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.66. Liberty Energy has a 12 month low of $9.50 and a 12 month high of $24.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.28.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Liberty Energy from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.15.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 22.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 81,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 14,663 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 4,955 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 11,455 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 94,205 shares of the company's stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 4,095 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.