Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Short Interest Up 10.4% in July

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,380,000 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the July 15th total of 15,740,000 shares. Currently, 10.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.4 days.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LBRT traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.78. 1,998,586 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,628,305. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.35. Liberty Energy has a fifty-two week low of $15.57 and a fifty-two week high of $24.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 22.85% and a net margin of 9.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is currently 10.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup upgraded Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.78.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other news, CAO Ryan T. Gosney sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $96,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 166,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,005,168. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.92, for a total value of $458,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 765,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,538,544.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ryan T. Gosney sold 4,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total value of $96,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 166,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,005,168. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 84,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,863,231 over the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 4,169 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $234,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,498,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,312,000 after buying an additional 381,841 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $3,374,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 333,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,970,000 after buying an additional 22,730 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is 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.