Investors Purchase High Volume of Liberty Energy Call Options (NYSE:LBRT)

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 40,180 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,340% compared to the typical volume of 1,647 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded Liberty Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $23.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research cut shares of Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.54.

Liberty Energy Trading Up 2.6%

Liberty Energy stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.95. 265,367 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,241,618. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.49. Liberty Energy has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $34.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.72.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 0.35 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 6,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.84, for a total value of $132,253.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 760,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,085,919.36. This trade represents a 0.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 14,053 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,002.87. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 41,621 shares in the company, valued at $740,437.59. The trade was a 50.98% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 79.6% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Liberty Energy

Liberty Energy Inc is an oilfield services company that provides hydraulic fracturing and related completion services to exploration and production companies. Its operations support the development of unconventional oil and natural gas wells, primarily in North America.

The company’s services and technologies include pressure pumping, well stimulation, wireline services, proppant and logistics solutions, and digital tools designed to improve completion performance and operational efficiency.