Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $24.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $24.30.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

LBRT stock opened at $23.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.85. Liberty Energy has a 1 year low of $11.62 and a 1 year high of $23.31.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 10.43% and a return on equity of 26.46%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Liberty Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.22%.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other news, insider R Sean Elliott sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 218,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,479,865. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director William F. Kimble sold 12,459 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.55, for a total value of $268,491.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 69,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,507,702.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider R Sean Elliott sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $410,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 218,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,479,865. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,077,491. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 2.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 20,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 3.8% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 18,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.0% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 42,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.