Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Liberty Energy from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.09.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 21.5%

Shares of NYSE LBRT opened at $19.73 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.54. Liberty Energy has a 12-month low of $9.90 and a 12-month high of $34.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.13% and a net margin of 2.92%.The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 9,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total transaction of $258,874.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 773,711 shares in the company, valued at $20,031,377.79. The trade was a 1.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total value of $249,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 89,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,185.60. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,012 shares of company stock valued at $1,673,803 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 94,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 4,095 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,992.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 11,455 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Liberty Energy by 0.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 868,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,756,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Liberty Energy by 22.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 81,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 14,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $119,000. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Liberty Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Liberty Energy beat second-quarter expectations, reporting $0.09 EPS on $1.19 billion in revenue, with revenue up 14% year over year. The company also posted net income of $43 million and adjusted EBITDA of $151 million, which supports the case that core demand remains healthy. Liberty Energy Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial and Operational Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a strategic joint venture with PowerBridge to help develop a planned 2 GW powered data center campus in Texas, which could open a new growth avenue tied to rising power demand from AI/data centers. Liberty Energy and PowerBridge Form Strategic Joint Venture to Support Powered Data Center Campus Development
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted unusually high options trading and a Zacks downgrade from “strong-buy” to “hold,” suggesting sentiment has become more cautious despite the earnings beat. Tickerreport.com article
• Negative Sentiment: Liberty Energy raised its full-year capital expenditure outlook, which likely spooked investors by signaling heavier spending ahead and potentially lower near-term free cash flow. Liberty Energy plunges after hiking full-year capex outlook

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.