Liberty Energy Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:LBRT)

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 5,552 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 399% compared to the average volume of 1,113 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LBRT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Liberty Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.09.

Insider Activity

In other Liberty Energy news, CFO Michael Stock sold 9,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $258,874.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 773,711 shares in the company, valued at $20,031,377.79. This represents a 1.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total transaction of $249,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,046,185.60. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,012 shares of company stock worth $1,673,803. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LBRT. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 5.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 187,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,403,000 after buying an additional 10,194 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 4,955 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,626,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $547,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:LBRT traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,515,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,123,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $28.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.54. Liberty Energy has a one year low of $9.90 and a one year high of $34.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $954.71 million. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Liberty Energy will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.56%.

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. 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.