Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $34.48 and last traded at $33.1520, with a volume of 158817 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LBRT shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.42.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.56 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.19. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $954.71 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Liberty Energy news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total transaction of $249,312.00. Following 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 9,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,059.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 27,568 shares in the company, valued at $710,978.72. The trade was a 54.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LBRT. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,575,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,771,724 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,529.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,753,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,976,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584,359 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 184.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,287,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,687,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,685 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new position in Liberty Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $23,653,000. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Liberty Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,394,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liberty Energy Company Profile

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.