Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $17.91, but opened at $17.23. Liberty Energy shares last traded at $17.56, with a volume of 201,955 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LBRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut shares of Liberty Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Atb Cap Markets lowered Liberty Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.89.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 18.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from Liberty Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.01, for a total value of $105,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 745,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,656,799.07. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.01, for a total transaction of $105,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 745,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,656,799.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total value of $395,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,638,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,169,333.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,000 shares of company stock worth $1,945,650 in the last three months. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 4,124,695 shares of the company's stock worth $79,408,000 after acquiring an additional 699,500 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 17.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,961,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,754,000 after purchasing an additional 594,051 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,634,256 shares of the company's stock worth $55,030,000 after purchasing an additional 67,362 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 48.0% in the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,981,100 shares of the company's stock worth $41,385,000 after purchasing an additional 642,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 19.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,717,591 shares of the company's stock worth $35,880,000 after purchasing an additional 280,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company's stock.

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.