Zacks Research Forecasts Weaker Earnings for Liberty Energy

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Liberty Energy in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $0.16 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $0.20. Zacks Research has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Liberty Energy’s current full-year earnings is $0.22 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Liberty Energy’s Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.05) EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at ($0.11) EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at ($0.10) EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at ($0.10) EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at ($0.04) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($0.35) EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.16 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $0.06 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $0.35 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on LBRT. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $27.50 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $23.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.42.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

LBRT stock opened at $14.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.58. Liberty Energy has a 52 week low of $14.64 and a 52 week high of $34.48.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 2.13% and a net margin of 0.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.06) EPS.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This is a boost from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 150.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In other Liberty Energy news, Director Ken Babcock acquired 14,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.40 per share, for a total transaction of $223,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,282,173.20. This trade represents a 21.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total transaction of $55,794.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 750,380 shares in the company, valued at $12,561,361.20. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,665 shares of company stock valued at $315,268. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,233,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,931,000 after acquiring an additional 431,269 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 901.2% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,431,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,988,535 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Liberty Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $61,185,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 54.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 983,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,331,000 after purchasing an additional 346,239 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 23.8% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,051,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,538,000 after purchasing an additional 201,839 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

More Liberty Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Liberty Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Long-term estimates improved: Zacks Research raised its Q1 2028 EPS forecast to $0.16 from $0.02, its Q3 2028 forecast to $0.06 from $0.03, and its FY2028 forecast to $0.35 from $0.11. These revisions suggest analysts see a potential recovery in Liberty Energy’s oilfield-services earnings after the downturn.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increased: Liberty Energy raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share from $0.09, supporting a $0.40 annualized payout. However, the reported payout ratio is high at 150%, which may limit the significance of the increase.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance remains cautious: Zacks maintained a “Hold” rating. Wall Street’s broader view is more constructive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $26.42, although several analysts have recently reduced their targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent operating results were solid but low-margin: Liberty Energy reported quarterly EPS of $0.06 in line with estimates and revenue of $1.20 billion, slightly above expectations. Revenue increased 26.3% year over year, but net margin was only 0.91%.
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term earnings forecasts were broadly cut: Zacks reduced its FY2026 EPS estimate to $0.16 from $0.20 and lowered its Q4 2026 estimate to a $0.05 loss. It also cut Q1–Q3 2027 forecasts and now expects a $0.35 per-share loss for FY2027, compared with a prior estimate of $0.06 profit. These revisions indicate weaker expected demand or pricing for completion services and are the clearest negative catalyst for LBRT. Liberty Energy estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds modest pressure: CFO Michael Stock sold 3,333 shares for approximately $55,800 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale reduced his holdings by only 0.44%, limiting its significance, but it may weigh on sentiment. CFO share sale

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.