Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Upgraded at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Sunday morning,Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Liberty Energy’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.30 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.33 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.45 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.55 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on LBRT. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut Liberty Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Liberty Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LBRT opened at $21.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Liberty Energy has a 1-year low of $16.57 and a 1-year high of $24.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.65.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.10). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 18.50%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a boost from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total transaction of $416,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 680,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,161,909.74. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.44, for a total transaction of $209,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,606,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,462,818.72. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,973 shares of company stock worth $1,471,335. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 61.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,146,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,061,000 after buying an additional 1,193,918 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 872,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,651,000 after acquiring an additional 37,927 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Liberty Energy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,631,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,706,000 after acquiring an additional 61,909 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Liberty Energy in the third quarter valued at about $403,000. 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.