Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $13.51 and last traded at $13.53, with a volume of 1661012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Liberty Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $24.00 to $19.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Liberty Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.90.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 16.3 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. On average, equities analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.11%.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $115,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 675,207 shares in the company, valued at $15,529,761. The trade was a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LBRT. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,197,352 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Liberty Energy by 61.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,146,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,061,000 after buying an additional 1,193,918 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Liberty Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,337,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,178,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,992,000 after buying an additional 505,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,147,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,718,000 after acquiring an additional 480,957 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.