LandBridge (NYSE:LB) Trading Up 6.6% – Still a Buy?

LandBridge Company LLC (NYSE:LB) traded up 6.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $71.12 and last traded at $70.57. 117,207 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 517,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LB. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of LandBridge from $57.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of LandBridge from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LandBridge from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of LandBridge from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LandBridge in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.00.

LandBridge Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 4.87 and a quick ratio of 4.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.30 and a beta of 0.54.

LandBridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from LandBridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. LandBridge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.06%.

LandBridge declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 25th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles L. Watson sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $975,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 64,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,818,750. The trade was a 16.83% 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, insider Harrison Fenner Bolling bought 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.84 per share, with a total value of $39,814.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 66,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,132,378.16. This represents a 1.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 3,542 shares of company stock valued at $164,630 and have sold 53,350 shares valued at $3,974,555. 70.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NCM Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in LandBridge by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Galaxy Group Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of LandBridge during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of LandBridge during the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of LandBridge during the fourth quarter valued at about $896,000. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP raised its stake in LandBridge by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 51,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,511,000 after buying an additional 6,834 shares in the last quarter.

LandBridge Company Profile

LandBridge Company LLC owns and manages land and resources to support and enhance oil and natural gas development in the United States. It owns surface acres in and around the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico. The company holds a portfolio of oil and gas royalties. It also sells brackish water and other surface composite materials. The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Houston, Texas. LandBridge Company LLC operates as a subsidiary of LandBridge Holdings LLC.