Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LBRT opened at $24.02 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.78 and a 200 day moving average of $27.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Liberty Energy has a 1-year low of $9.90 and a 1-year high of $34.48.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.56%.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In related news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman owned 89,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,046,185.60. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 19,998 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $669,533.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 800,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,796,555. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 54,012 shares of company stock worth $1,673,803 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 94,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 4,095 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,992.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 11,455 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 0.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 868,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,756,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 22.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 81,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 14,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the second quarter worth $119,000. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

More Liberty Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Liberty Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Liberty Energy reported second-quarter revenue of about $1.2 billion, up 14% year over year, and earnings of $0.09 per share, topping Wall Street expectations. The beat, along with adjusted EBITDA of $151 million and $15 million returned to shareholders, supports the stock. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a strategic joint venture with PowerBridge to support powered data center campus development, giving investors a new angle for future growth beyond its core energy services business. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call option buying points to speculative bullish positioning and suggests some traders are betting on additional upside. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Liberty Energy from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which could temper enthusiasm after the earnings release, but it does not change the underlying operating update. Article title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LBRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research cut Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.09.

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.