Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Given New $29.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) had its price objective reduced by Royal Bank Of Canada from $34.00 to $29.00 in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

LBRT has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Liberty Energy from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.09.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 11.6%

LBRT opened at $17.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.15. Liberty Energy has a 1-year low of $9.90 and a 1-year high of $34.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.54.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. Liberty Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Liberty Energy will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 9,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total value of $258,874.11. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 773,711 shares in the company, valued at $20,031,377.79. This trade represents a 1.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total value of $249,312.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,012 shares of company stock valued at $1,673,803. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

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

More Liberty Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Liberty Energy beat Q2 expectations, reporting EPS of $0.09 and revenue of about $1.19 billion, both above estimates, with revenue up 14% year over year. Management also pointed to record utilization, pricing improvements, and AI-related initiatives as growth drivers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Liberty Energy announced a strategic joint venture with PowerBridge to support a planned 2 GW powered data center campus in Texas, reinforcing its push into power-fueled growth opportunities beyond its core oilfield services business. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital lowered its price target on Liberty Energy to $29 from $34 and kept a “sector perform” rating. The new target still suggests meaningful upside, but the cut may have dampened enthusiasm. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Liberty Energy’s earnings call highlighted an upbeat growth strategy, but also noted investor focus on market volatility and the company’s higher capital spending plans. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports said LBRT plunged after management raised its full-year capex outlook, which can raise concerns about near-term free cash flow even if it supports longer-term expansion. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Liberty Energy from “strong-buy” to “hold,” adding to cautious sentiment around the stock. Article Title

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. 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.