Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.21 EPS

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.21, Zacks reports. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 1.69%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $880.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Liberty Energy’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 1.6%

LBRT opened at $21.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49 and a beta of 0.45. Liberty Energy has a one year low of $9.50 and a one year high of $22.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is 32.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Liberty Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.64.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,575,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,826,000 after buying an additional 3,771,724 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,967,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,062,000 after acquiring an additional 529,023 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,529.2% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,753,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,976,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584,359 shares in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Energy during the second quarter valued at $23,653,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,852,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,270,000 after buying an additional 458,285 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

About Liberty Energy

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.