Key Points
- Director Ken Babcock bought 14,500 Liberty Energy shares at an average price of $15.40, investing $223,300 and increasing his ownership by 21.09% to 83,258 shares.
- Liberty Energy reported quarterly revenue of $1.20 billion, up 26.3% year over year, while earnings of $0.06 per share matched analyst expectations.
- The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share, or $0.40 annually, representing a 2.3% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $26.42 price target.
Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) Director Ken Babcock acquired 14,500 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.40 per share, with a total value of $223,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 83,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,282,173.20. This represents a 21.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.
Liberty Energy Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE LBRT opened at $17.57 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $18.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.19, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.76 and a 52-week high of $34.48.
Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.06. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 2.13% and a net margin of 0.91%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. Liberty Energy's revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Liberty Energy Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Liberty Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Liberty Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 150.00%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
LBRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $27.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Liberty Energy from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.42.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on LBRT
Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LBRT. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Liberty Energy by 79.6% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 914 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 36.8% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,862 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company's stock.
About Liberty Energy
(
Get Free Report)
Liberty Energy Inc is an oilfield services company that provides completion and production services to exploration and production companies. Its primary business is hydraulic fracturing, a well-stimulation technique used to improve the flow of oil and natural gas from unconventional reservoirs.
The company also offers wireline services, well diagnostics, frac data analysis, engineering support, and related technologies designed to help customers plan, execute, and evaluate well-completion operations.
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