Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Downgraded to “Sector Perform” Rating by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $19.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $24.00.

LBRT has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Atb Cap Markets raised Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.80.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

LBRT stock opened at $15.08 on Monday. Liberty Energy has a 52-week low of $13.86 and a 52-week high of $24.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.57.

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

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is 17.11%.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.51, for a total value of $97,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 700,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,661,038.57. This represents a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $808,350 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 237.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 604.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 257.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 176.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 2,184 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.