Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 6,864,414 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 47% from the previous session’s volume of 4,669,185 shares.The stock last traded at $29.0920 and had previously closed at $28.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.42.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.68 and a beta of 0.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $880.59 million. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 1.24%. Liberty Energy’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.45%.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other Liberty Energy news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 9,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,059.84. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 27,568 shares in the company, valued at $710,978.72. This trade represents a 54.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $634,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 784,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,918,706.22. The trade was a 3.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 94,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 4,095 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Liberty Energy by 1,992.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 11,455 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Liberty Energy by 0.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 868,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,756,000 after acquiring an additional 4,955 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 81,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 14,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin.