Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

LBRT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Atb Cap Markets upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liberty Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.20.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LBRT opened at $21.34 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.66. Liberty Energy has a 12 month low of $16.57 and a 12 month high of $24.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.66.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.10). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 18.50%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is a positive change from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is 15.24%.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total value of $416,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 680,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,161,909.74. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.15, for a total value of $36,971.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,578,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,805,455.95. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,973 shares of company stock worth $1,471,335 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBRT. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 3.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Andina Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 19,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 96.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 24.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 7.3% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.