Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $16.90, but opened at $17.68. Liberty Energy shares last traded at $17.37, with a volume of 3,475,221 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LBRT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Atb Cap Markets lowered Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.89.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 2.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.10). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 8.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. This is an increase from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.33%.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In other news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.15, for a total transaction of $36,971.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,578,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,805,455.95. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.01, for a total transaction of $105,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 745,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,656,799.07. The trade was a 0.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,037 shares of company stock worth $1,911,802 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 45.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 495,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,461,000 after acquiring an additional 154,070 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 872,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,651,000 after purchasing an additional 37,927 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 114.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 174,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,611,000 after buying an additional 92,923 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Liberty Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $690,000. Finally, BOKF NA purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,490,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.