Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Trading volume jumped 47% to 6,864,414 shares midday, with the stock trading around $29.09 (previous close $28.80) and up roughly 2.6%.
• Analyst activity has been positive—Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley raised targets to $30 and JPMorgan upgraded to overweight—and the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $26.42.
• Liberty Energy beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.05 vs. -$0.16 estimate; revenue $1.04B vs. $880.6M est.) and pays a $0.09 quarterly dividend (about a 1.2% yield).

Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 6,864,414 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 47% from the previous session's volume of 4,669,185 shares.The stock last traded at $29.0920 and had previously closed at $28.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LBRT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liberty Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.42.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 2.6%

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $26.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.60. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.21. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.24% and a net margin of 3.69%.The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $880.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R Sean Elliott sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total value of $635,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 343,150 shares in the company, valued at $8,716,010. This represents a 6.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $634,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 784,819 shares in the company, valued at $19,918,706.22. The trade was a 3.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,491,000 after buying an additional 4,095 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,992.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the company's stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 11,455 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 868,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,756,000 after acquiring an additional 4,955 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 14,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 45.2% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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