Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Price Target to $26.00

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $24.00 to $26.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LBRT. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Liberty Energy from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Liberty Energy from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $24.30.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

LBRT opened at $22.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.71. Liberty Energy has a 12-month low of $11.62 and a 12-month high of $23.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.85.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 26.46% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Liberty Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Energy news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,858,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,780,725.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director William F. Kimble sold 12,459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.55, for a total value of $268,491.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 69,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,507,702.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.66, for a total value of $453,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,858,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,780,725.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,459 shares of company stock worth $2,077,491. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Liberty Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 111.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.