Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) CEO Christopher A. Wright Sells 2,936 Shares

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $56,253.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,543,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,740,683.32. This trade represents a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE LBRT traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.13. The company had a trading volume of 4,060,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,544,850. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 1.71. Liberty Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.57 and a 12-month high of $24.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.10). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 18.50% and a net margin of 8.02%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. Liberty Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Liberty Energy Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current 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 $0.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 45.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 495,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,461,000 after purchasing an additional 154,070 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Liberty Energy by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 872,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,651,000 after buying an additional 37,927 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Energy by 168.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 62,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 39,497 shares in the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 89.2% in the 3rd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,682,000 after buying an additional 165,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,237,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,709,000 after buying an additional 166,443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LBRT. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup downgraded Liberty Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $25.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Atb Cap Markets cut Liberty Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Liberty Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.89.

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.