Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $15.42, but opened at $16.21. Liberty Energy shares last traded at $16.27, with a volume of 507,874 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LBRT shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.90.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.55.

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

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total transaction of $416,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 680,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,161,909.74. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock worth $808,350 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Palogic Value Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $1,492,000. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $728,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $3,365,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 338,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,000 after purchasing an additional 17,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $312,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.