Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Shares Down 8.3% – Should You Sell?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) shares were down 8.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $16.41 and last traded at $16.5250. Approximately 974,823 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 4,214,655 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LBRT. Scotiabank started coverage on Liberty Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 price objective on Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Liberty Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Liberty Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.21.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.71.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arjun Murti purchased 14,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.79 per share, with a total value of $250,002.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $740,437.59. This trade represents a 50.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 3,333 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $66,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 753,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,074,260. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 16,665 shares of company stock valued at $319,301 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 79.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,397.1% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 3,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Liberty Energy

Liberty Energy Inc is an oilfield services company that provides hydraulic fracturing and related completion services to exploration and production companies. Its operations support the development of unconventional oil and natural gas wells, primarily in North America.

The company’s services and technologies include pressure pumping, well stimulation, wireline services, proppant and logistics solutions, and digital tools designed to improve completion performance and operational efficiency.