Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,456,023 shares, a growth of 23.0% from the March 15th total of 10,942,627 shares. Approximately 8.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,127,402 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Liberty Energy Trading Down 5.7%

LBRT traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.36. The stock had a trading volume of 4,805,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,539,278. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62 and a beta of 0.48. Liberty Energy has a 1-year low of $9.90 and a 1-year high of $32.40.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.21. Liberty Energy had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 1.24%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $880.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is presently 40.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R Sean Elliott sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.40, for a total value of $635,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 343,150 shares in the company, valued at $8,716,010. This represents a 6.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $634,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 784,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,918,706.22. The trade was a 3.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 19.2% during the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 13,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $526,000. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Liberty Energy by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,503,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,216,000 after buying an additional 946,591 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LBRT. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Liberty Energy from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler raised Liberty Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $17.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.83.

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.