Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Trading Down 6.2% – Here’s Why

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) dropped 6.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $19.97 and last traded at $19.9790. Approximately 1,116,463 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 4,338,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LBRT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Liberty Energy from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.36.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.15.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 2.92%.The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 14,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.79 per share, with a total value of $250,002.87. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,437.59. This represents a 50.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 3,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.95, for a total value of $59,827.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 770,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,828,285.10. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,997 shares of company stock valued at $814,785. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 79.6% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Liberty Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.