Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $14.77 and last traded at $14.58, with a volume of 76827 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LBRT. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.30.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.58.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Energy news, CFO Michael Stock sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.94, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 717,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,868,218.48. This trade represents a 1.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $808,350. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 17.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,115,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640,119 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 15.9% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,012,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,866,000 after purchasing an additional 963,068 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,662,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,193,000 after buying an additional 176,887 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,178,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,992,000 after buying an additional 505,634 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Liberty Energy by 83.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,828,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,043,000 after buying an additional 2,197,352 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.