Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Shares Down 4.1% - Time to Sell?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) dropped 4.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $12.04 and last traded at $12.05. Approximately 549,471 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 3,323,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on LBRT shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Liberty Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Liberty Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $24.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.23.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 3.4%

The company's fifty day moving average is $11.84 and its 200-day moving average is $16.02. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $977.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.64 million. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 7.32%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Liberty Energy's payout ratio is 21.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LBRT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 897,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,842,000 after purchasing an additional 24,825 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $6,792,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $2,779,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 197.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 286,661 shares of the company's stock worth $5,471,000 after purchasing an additional 190,445 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 315.8% during the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 133,169 shares of the company's stock worth $2,649,000 after purchasing an additional 101,144 shares during the period. 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.