Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Director Arjun Murti Acquires 14,053 Shares

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Director Arjun Murti bought 14,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.79 per share, for a total transaction of $250,002.87. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $740,437.59. The trade was a 50.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 5.0%

LBRT stock opened at $17.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.90 and a 12 month high of $34.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.16.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LBRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Liberty Energy from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.09.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 901.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,431,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,988,535 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 78.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,575,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,771,724 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,529.2% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,753,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,976,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584,359 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 184.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,287,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,685 shares during the period. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC bought a new position in Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $23,653,000. 98.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.