Key Points
- Director purchase: Arjun Murti bought 9,696 shares at $25.79 on Feb. 17 for $250,059.84, increasing his stake to 27,568 shares (a 54.25% rise) — disclosed in an SEC Form 4 filing.
- Earnings beat and growth: Liberty reported Q4 EPS of $0.05 versus a -$0.16 consensus and revenue of $1.04B (up 10.1% year-over-year), indicating improving profitability and top-line momentum.
- Dividend and market view: The company declared a $0.09 quarterly dividend (1.4% yield, ex-dividend March 4), shares trade near $26.50 (close to the 52-week high), and analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a ~$26.08 target.
Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) Director Arjun Murti bought 9,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,059.84. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 27,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,978.72. This represents a 54.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Liberty Energy Price Performance
Shares of LBRT traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.53. 1,293,645 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,782,792. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.57. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.50 and a 1 year high of $27.85.
Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $880.59 million. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.24% and a net margin of 3.69%.The firm's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.
Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.45%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. First Horizon Corp raised its position in Liberty Energy by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts recently weighed in on LBRT shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Liberty Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.08.
Get Our Latest Analysis on LBRT
Liberty Energy Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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