Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Stock Price Down 6.2% – What’s Next?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)’s share price was down 6.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $19.97 and last traded at $19.9790. 1,116,463 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 4,338,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, June 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.36.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 5.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.46 and its 200-day moving average is $27.15. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.60.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The business’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.65%.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 14,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,002.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,437.59. This trade represents a 50.98% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 3,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.95, for a total value of $59,827.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 770,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,828,285.10. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 29,997 shares of company stock worth $814,785 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Liberty Energy by 79.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 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. 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.