Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Hits New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $23.98 and last traded at $23.9420, with a volume of 20499 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.80.

The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $880.59 million. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 1.69% and a net margin of 4.76%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 32.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Liberty Energy from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 78.5% during 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. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 28.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,809,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,716,007 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,967,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,062,000 after acquiring an additional 529,023 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,584,359 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Liberty Energy by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,161,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,815,000 after purchasing an additional 365,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Trading Up 9.8%

The firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.11.

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.