Arjun Murti Purchases 9,696 Shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Stock

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Director Arjun Murti bought 9,696 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.79 per share, with a total value of $250,059.84. Following the purchase, the director owned 27,568 shares in the company, valued at $710,978.72. This trade represents a 54.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE LBRT traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $26.88. 4,721,139 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,893,268. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.49. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.50 and a 52 week high of $27.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.22.

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

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LBRT shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $21.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on Liberty Energy from $17.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 23,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Liberty Energy by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Liberty Energy by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. 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. 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.