Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Trading Up 5.6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Liberty Energy's stock price increased by 5.6%, reaching $12.61, although trading volume was down significantly at 1.5 million shares compared to its average of over 3.5 million shares.
• Recent analyst ratings for Liberty Energy have been mixed, with target prices ranging from $12.00 to $19.00 and an average rating of "Hold".
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.09 per share, reflecting a boost from its previous dividend and a yield of 2.4%.

Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) were up 5.6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $12.61 and last traded at $12.61. Approximately 1,535,567 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 3,568,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LBRT shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Liberty Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Liberty Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $12.00 price objective (down previously from $14.00) on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.85.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 25.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.74.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $947.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.05 million. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 5.29%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Liberty Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,279.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 16,679 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 1.5% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 62,536 shares of the company's stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $761,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $162,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 38.3% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 32,196 shares of the company's stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 8,909 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently 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.

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