Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.25, but opened at $12.24. Liberty Energy shares last traded at $12.59, with a volume of 664,735 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LBRT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Liberty Energy from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $15.65.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 6.06%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Liberty Energy's payout ratio is currently 24.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LBRT. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Liberty Energy by 257.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 281.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 3,193 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company's stock.

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.