Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.70, but opened at $27.26. Liberty Energy shares last traded at $27.6250, with a volume of 1,926,154 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LBRT. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.42.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $26.03 and its 200-day moving average is $19.54. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15 and a beta of 0.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $880.59 million. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 1.24%. Liberty Energy’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In other Liberty Energy news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 9,696 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R Sean Elliott sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total value of $635,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 343,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,716,010. The trade was a 6.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. First Horizon Corp lifted its stake in Liberty Energy by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 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. 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.