Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Trading Down 4% - Here's Why

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) shares fell 4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $12.74 and last traded at $12.83. 121,064 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 2,820,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $16.00 to $13.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of 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, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.23.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $11.94 and its 200 day moving average is $15.81. 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 cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 0.68.

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. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 7.32%. The business had revenue of $977.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBRT. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 31,299 shares of the company's stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 6,777 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,935,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,089,000 after acquiring an additional 62,924 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 604.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,334 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Liberty Energy by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 120,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,406,000 after buying an additional 26,036 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.