Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.30.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

NYSE LBRT opened at $17.86 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Liberty Energy has a twelve month low of $16.57 and a twelve month high of $24.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.29.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. Equities analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 17.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Liberty Energy news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 680,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,161,909.74. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,936 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $56,253.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,543,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,740,683.32. This trade represents a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,936 shares of company stock worth $1,341,184. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 338,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,739,000 after acquiring an additional 17,440 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $312,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,081.4% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 316,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,287,000 after acquiring an additional 289,320 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,779,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,339,000. 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.