Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Given New $22.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

LBRT has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Atb Cap Markets upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.60.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LBRT opened at $21.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.65. Liberty Energy has a 1-year low of $16.57 and a 1-year high of $24.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The company reported $0.45 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Liberty Energy will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 15.24%.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Energy

In related news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 12,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.44, for a total transaction of $209,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,606,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,462,818.72. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total transaction of $416,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 680,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,161,909.74. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,973 shares of company stock valued at $1,471,335 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Liberty Energy by 61.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,146,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,918 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,631,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,706,000 after acquiring an additional 61,909 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,817 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $403,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.