Atb Cap Markets upgraded shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports. Atb Cap Markets also issued estimates for Liberty Energy's FY2024 earnings at $1.52 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.21 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.28 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.31 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.15 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.28 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.42 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.56 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $1.96 EPS.
A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Liberty Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Liberty Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Liberty Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.89.
Check Out Our Latest Report on LBRT
Liberty Energy Trading Up 0.9 %
LBRT stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.27. The company had a trading volume of 2,300,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,543,644. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.07. Liberty Energy has a 12 month low of $16.57 and a 12 month high of $24.75. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 1.71.
Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.10). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 8.02%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.
Liberty Energy Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This is a boost from Liberty Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Liberty Energy's payout ratio is currently 15.24%.
Insider Activity at Liberty Energy
In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total value of $86,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 725,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,480,812.47. The trade was a 0.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $398,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,678,813 shares in the company, valued at $53,335,166.83. This represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 112,973 shares of company stock valued at $2,144,485. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 495,578 shares of the company's stock worth $9,461,000 after buying an additional 154,070 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 872,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,651,000 after purchasing an additional 37,927 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 168.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 62,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 39,497 shares during the period. Impala Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 89.2% in the 3rd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 350,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,682,000 after purchasing an additional 165,000 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,237,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,709,000 after purchasing an additional 166,443 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Liberty Energy Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
See Also
Before you consider Liberty Energy, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Liberty Energy wasn't on the list.
While Liberty Energy currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
