Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Stock: Insider Ron Gusek Buys 25,000 Shares

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) CEO Ron Gusek purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.09 per share, with a total value of $377,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,068,702 shares in the company, valued at $16,126,713.18. This represents a 2.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

NYSE LBRT traded down $1.85 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $11.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,707,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,337,165. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.72. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.24 and a 1-year high of $34.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.52.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 2.13% and a net margin of 0.91%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. Liberty Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This is a positive change from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LBRT shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.42.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,233,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,931,000 after acquiring an additional 431,269 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 901.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,431,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,988,535 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $61,185,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 23.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,051,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,538,000 after acquiring an additional 201,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 54.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 983,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,331,000 after acquiring an additional 346,239 shares during the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Liberty Energy

Liberty Energy Inc is an oilfield services company that provides completion and production services to exploration and production companies. Its primary business is hydraulic fracturing, a well-stimulation technique used to improve the flow of oil and natural gas from unconventional reservoirs.

The company also offers wireline services, well diagnostics, frac data analysis, engineering support, and related technologies designed to help customers plan, execute, and evaluate well-completion operations.