Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Sets New 52-Week High at $23.31

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $23.31 and last traded at $22.62, with a volume of 558445 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LBRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.67.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.63.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 32.28% and a net margin of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.66, for a total value of $453,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,858,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,780,725.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Ryan T. Gosney sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $123,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 140,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,884,473. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.66, for a total value of $453,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,858,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,780,725.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,459 shares of company stock worth $2,077,491 in the last three months. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LBRT. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 24.7% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 13,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,637 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 129.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,089,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178,716 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Liberty Energy by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 775.0% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 219,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after purchasing an additional 194,767 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 106.8% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 49,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 25,424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.