Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Price Target Raised to $22.00

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) had its price target raised by Citigroup from $19.00 to $22.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on LBRT. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.20.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of LBRT stock opened at $21.34 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.66. Liberty Energy has a 12-month low of $16.57 and a 12-month high of $24.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.66.

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

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is 15.24%.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,936 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $56,253.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,543,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,740,683.32. This represents a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total value of $86,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 725,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,480,812.47. The trade was a 0.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,973 shares of company stock valued at $1,471,335. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,115,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640,119 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,012,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,866,000 after acquiring an additional 963,068 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,662,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,193,000 after acquiring an additional 176,887 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 4,124,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,408,000 after acquiring an additional 699,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,961,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,754,000 after purchasing an additional 594,051 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.