Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Short Interest Down 18.0% in March

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,330,000 shares, a drop of 18.0% from the March 15th total of 12,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 6.6% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.94, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 717,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,868,218.48. This represents a 1.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 604.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 257.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Liberty Energy by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 2,184 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Liberty Energy stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.05. The stock had a trading volume of 5,368,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,732,939. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Liberty Energy has a 52-week low of $9.50 and a 52-week high of $24.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's fifty day moving average is $14.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.57.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $977.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $960.64 million. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on LBRT. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Liberty Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $19.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $11.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.40.

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.

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