Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Stock Price Down 6.6% – What’s Next?

Shares of Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) traded down 6.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $17.72 and last traded at $17.8750. 751,272 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 3,801,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.36.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 7.2%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.05). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 1.69%. The company had revenue of $947.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.05 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is 32.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Liberty Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 213.7% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently 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.