Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Downgraded by Atb Cap Markets to Hold

Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup lowered Liberty Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $25.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.70.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 3.3 %

Liberty Energy stock opened at $17.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 6.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.68. Liberty Energy has a fifty-two week low of $16.69 and a fifty-two week high of $24.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.32.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 22.85% and a net margin of 9.53%. Liberty Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Research analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.68%.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In related news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $398,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,678,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,335,166.83. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $398,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,678,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,335,166.83. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.01, for a total value of $105,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 745,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,656,799.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,945,650. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Liberty Energy in the first quarter valued at $27,809,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,981,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,385,000 after purchasing an additional 642,700 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,961,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,754,000 after buying an additional 594,051 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 60.2% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,437,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,775,000 after buying an additional 539,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 345.4% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 573,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,974,000 after buying an additional 444,500 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is currently 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.