Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Bank of America upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Bank of America now has a $31.00 price target on the stock. Liberty Energy traded as high as $27.70 and last traded at $27.5910, with a volume of 491986 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.68.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.08.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other Liberty Energy news, insider R Sean Elliott sold 25,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total transaction of $635,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 343,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,716,010. This trade represents a 6.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $634,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 784,819 shares in the company, valued at $19,918,706.22. The trade was a 3.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Liberty Energy by 78.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,575,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,771,724 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,529.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,753,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,976,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584,359 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,653,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,394,000. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new position in Liberty Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $22,336,000. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Trading Up 3.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93 and a beta of 0.49.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.21. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.24% and a net margin of 3.69%.The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $880.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.45%.

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. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin.