Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Stock Price Down 4.2% After Earnings Miss

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)’s stock price was down 4.2% during trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $19.86 and last traded at $19.80. Approximately 271,600 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 2,719,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.66.

The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 18.50%.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Atb Cap Markets upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Energy news, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $115,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 675,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,529,761. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.15, for a total value of $36,971.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,578,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,805,455.95. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,973 shares of company stock worth $1,500,285 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LBRT. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Liberty Energy by 28.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 4,169 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 90,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 10,766 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,132 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD purchased a new position in Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $251,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $642,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.79.

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.