Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Director Arjun Murti Buys 9,696 Shares

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Director Arjun Murti bought 9,696 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.79 per share, with a total value of $250,059.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 27,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,978.72. This represents a 54.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Liberty Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LBRT traded down $0.36 on Friday, reaching $26.53. 1,293,645 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,782,792. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 0.49. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.50 and a 52-week high of $27.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.21. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.24% and a net margin of 3.69%.The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $880.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LBRT. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 23,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Liberty Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LBRT shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.08.

About Liberty Energy

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. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin.