Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $11.43, but opened at $12.70. Liberty Energy shares last traded at $12.54, with a volume of 469,307 shares.
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 analyst estimates of $960.64 million. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS.
Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Liberty Energy's payout ratio is currently 21.19%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
LBRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Liberty Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $11.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Six equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.90.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Liberty Energy
Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy
In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.94, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 717,292 shares in the company, valued at $12,868,218.48. This represents a 1.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Well Done LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 21,725 shares of the company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Liberty Energy by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 32,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 8,909 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth $761,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in Liberty Energy in the first quarter valued at $417,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.
Liberty Energy Price Performance
The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.59 and a 200 day moving average of $17.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 1.18.
Liberty Energy Company Profile
(
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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.
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