Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Trading 3.2% Higher - What's Next?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) shares traded up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $19.37 and last traded at $19.29. 1,082,214 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 2,544,508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LBRT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Liberty Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Finally, Atb Cap Markets upgraded Liberty Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 5.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.63. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.71.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 8.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from Liberty Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio is 15.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Energy news, CFO Michael Stock sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.23, for a total transaction of $288,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 730,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,041,880.61. This trade represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 12,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.44, for a total transaction of $209,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,606,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,462,818.72. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,973 shares of company stock worth $1,738,785 in the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LBRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 61.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,146,179 shares of the company's stock worth $60,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,918 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 872,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,651,000 after buying an additional 37,927 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,631,360 shares of the company's stock worth $53,706,000 after acquiring an additional 61,909 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 14.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,299 shares of the company's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the third quarter valued at about $403,000. 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.