Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $28.20 and last traded at $28.2690, with a volume of 3039222 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Liberty Energy from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.08.

Liberty Energy Trading Up 6.1%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.59 and its 200-day moving average is $16.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76 and a beta of 0.49.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.21. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 1.24%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $880.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.45%.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other Liberty Energy news, insider R Sean Elliott sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total value of $635,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 343,150 shares in the company, valued at $8,716,010. This trade represents a 6.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $634,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 784,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,918,706.22. The trade was a 3.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 3,771,724 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $33,976,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584,359 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 184.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,287,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,685 shares during the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Energy in the second quarter valued at about $23,653,000. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $36,394,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.