LandBridge (NYSE:LB) Shares Up 6.4% – Should You Buy?

LandBridge Company LLC (NYSE:LB)’s stock price traded up 6.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $66.93 and last traded at $67.9450. 51,237 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 507,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on LandBridge from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research upgraded LandBridge from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LandBridge in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on LandBridge from $57.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on LandBridge from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LandBridge has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

LandBridge Trading Up 6.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.37 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a current ratio of 4.87.

LandBridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from LandBridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. LandBridge’s payout ratio is currently 51.06%.

LandBridge declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles L. Watson sold 30,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.07, for a total value of $2,272,467.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 86,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,438,164.40. The trade was a 26.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,350 shares of company stock worth $3,974,555. Corporate insiders own 70.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LandBridge

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of LandBridge by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 6,861,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330,099 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LandBridge by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 854,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,602,000 after purchasing an additional 68,343 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LandBridge in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,817,000. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LandBridge by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 592,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,046,000 after purchasing an additional 13,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LandBridge by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 453,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,190,000 after purchasing an additional 46,567 shares during the last quarter.

About LandBridge

LandBridge Company LLC owns and manages land and resources to support and enhance oil and natural gas development in the United States. It owns surface acres in and around the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico. The company holds a portfolio of oil and gas royalties. It also sells brackish water and other surface composite materials. The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Houston, Texas. LandBridge Company LLC operates as a subsidiary of LandBridge Holdings LLC.