Liberty Energy’s (LBRT) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $24.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $24.30.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of LBRT opened at $22.12 on Monday. Liberty Energy has a 12-month low of $11.62 and a 12-month high of $23.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.20 and its 200 day moving average is $19.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.85.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 26.46% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Liberty Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R Sean Elliott sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $410,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,479,865. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Ryan T. Gosney sold 6,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $123,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 140,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,884,473. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R Sean Elliott sold 20,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $410,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,479,865. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 98,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,077,491 in the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBRT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 1,777.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 233,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,232,000 after purchasing an additional 220,854 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,241,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,505,000 after purchasing an additional 247,074 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $3,532,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board bought a new position in Liberty Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,549,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 237,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,391,000 after purchasing an additional 65,062 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.