Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT – Get Free Report) traded down 12.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $23.09 and last traded at $21.9160. Approximately 2,608,390 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 4,127,262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.14.
Key Liberty Energy News
Here are the key news stories impacting Liberty Energy this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Liberty Energy beat Q2 expectations, reporting EPS of $0.09 and revenue of about $1.19 billion, both above estimates, with revenue up 14% year over year. Management also pointed to record utilization, pricing improvements, and AI-related initiatives as growth drivers. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Liberty Energy announced a strategic joint venture with PowerBridge to support a planned 2 GW powered data center campus in Texas, reinforcing its push into power-fueled growth opportunities beyond its core oilfield services business. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital lowered its price target on Liberty Energy to $29 from $34 and kept a “sector perform” rating. The new target still suggests meaningful upside, but the cut may have dampened enthusiasm. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Liberty Energy’s earnings call highlighted an upbeat growth strategy, but also noted investor focus on market volatility and the company’s higher capital spending plans. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Reports said LBRT plunged after management raised its full-year capex outlook, which can raise concerns about near-term free cash flow even if it supports longer-term expansion. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Liberty Energy from “strong-buy” to “hold,” adding to cautious sentiment around the stock. Article Title
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LBRT. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Liberty Energy from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price target on Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Liberty Energy from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.09.
Liberty Energy Price Performance
The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.
Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 1.14%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is 48.65%.
Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy
In other Liberty Energy news, Chairman William F. Kimble sold 7,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total transaction of $249,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 89,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,046,185.60. The trade was a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 19,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $669,533.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 800,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,796,555. This trade represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 54,012 shares of company stock valued at $1,673,803 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LBRT. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Liberty Energy by 901.2% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,575,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,826,000 after acquiring an additional 3,771,724 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 1,529.2% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,753,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,976,000 after acquiring an additional 2,584,359 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 184.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,287,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,687,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the second quarter valued at about $23,653,000. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.
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. 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.
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