Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Stock Lifted to Sell by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Liberty Energy from $31.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Liberty Energy from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.42.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of LBRT stock opened at $16.83 on Friday. Liberty Energy has a 1 year low of $14.76 and a 1 year high of $34.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.61.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 2.13% and a net margin of 0.91%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is 150.00%.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.84, for a total value of $132,253.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 760,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,085,919.36. This represents a 0.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Ken Babcock purchased 14,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.40 per share, with a total value of $223,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,282,173.20. The trade was a 21.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,332 shares of company stock worth $259,474. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arlington Capital Management INC increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Arlington Capital Management INC now owns 148,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 43.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 50,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 15,258 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 368.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 20,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 16,014 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 25.4% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 29,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 5,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Company Profile

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.