Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.69 and last traded at $28.5720, with a volume of 258614 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LBRT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Liberty Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.08.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.33. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91 and a beta of 0.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $880.59 million. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.24% and a net margin of 3.69%.The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 40.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R Sean Elliott sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total transaction of $635,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 343,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,716,010. The trade was a 6.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 9,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,059.84. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,568 shares in the company, valued at $710,978.72. This represents a 54.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Liberty Energy during the third quarter worth about $29,000. First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin.