Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LBRT. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $36.00 price objective on Liberty Energy in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.18.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

NYSE:LBRT opened at $27.09 on Monday. Liberty Energy has a 52 week low of $9.90 and a 52 week high of $34.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.21 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $954.71 million. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 3.71%.The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Liberty Energy will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In other Liberty Energy news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total value of $249,312.00. Following the sale, the chairman 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 available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 3,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $103,323.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 783,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,295,010. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 44,013 shares of company stock worth $1,414,929. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 5.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 4,955 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $7,626,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $547,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.