Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Rating Increased to Buy at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $31.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Liberty Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Liberty Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $17.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.08.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LBRT opened at $26.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 29.97 and a beta of 0.49. 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 50-day moving average price of $21.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.42. Liberty Energy has a 12-month low of $9.50 and a 12-month high of $27.21.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R Sean Elliott sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $634,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 784,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,918,706.22. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBRT. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 23,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.