Stifel Nicolaus Trims Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Target Price to $25.00

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) had its price target decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $26.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LBRT. Citigroup cut shares of Liberty Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $25.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.70.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of LBRT opened at $17.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.68. Liberty Energy has a 52 week low of $16.69 and a 52 week high of $24.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 22.85% and a net margin of 9.53%. Liberty Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Liberty Energy will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Stock sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.23, for a total value of $288,450.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 730,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,041,880.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Liberty Energy news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total value of $395,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,638,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,169,333.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.23, for a total value of $288,450.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 730,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,041,880.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,945,650. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBRT. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Liberty Energy by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,961,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,754,000 after acquiring an additional 594,051 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,634,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,030,000 after buying an additional 67,362 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,981,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,385,000 after buying an additional 642,700 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 19.5% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,717,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,880,000 after buying an additional 280,550 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 34.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,498,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,312,000 after acquiring an additional 381,841 shares during 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.