Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Short Interest Update

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,900,000 shares, an increase of 18.8% from the March 15th total of 16,750,000 shares. Currently, 12.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

LBRT opened at $22.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.59. Liberty Energy has a 1 year low of $11.62 and a 1 year high of $23.23.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 32.28% and a net margin of 11.72%. Liberty Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on LBRT. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liberty Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In other Liberty Energy news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.66, for a total value of $453,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,858,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,780,725.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Ryan T. Gosney sold 6,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $123,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 140,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,884,473. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.66, for a total transaction of $453,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,858,814 shares in the company, valued at $64,780,725.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 98,459 shares of company stock valued at $2,077,491 in the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $21,278,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 3,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $398,000. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.