Zacks Research Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for Liberty Energy in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 4th. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $0.53 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.54. The consensus estimate for Liberty Energy's current full-year earnings is $2.69 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Liberty Energy's FY2026 earnings at $3.23 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.75.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Liberty Energy stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,043,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,037,473. Liberty Energy has a fifty-two week low of $11.62 and a fifty-two week high of $23.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.49. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $20.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.85.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 32.28%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. Liberty Energy's revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $405,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,830,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,372,248.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director William F. Kimble sold 12,459 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.55, for a total transaction of $268,491.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 69,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,507,702.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total value of $405,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,830,402 shares in the company, valued at $57,372,248.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,459 shares of company stock worth $2,077,491. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Liberty Energy by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $21,278,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in Liberty Energy by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 49,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Liberty Energy by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 3,864 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $398,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.