Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Price Target Cut to $22.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Liberty Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.30.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 4.6 %

LBRT opened at $18.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Liberty Energy has a twelve month low of $16.57 and a twelve month high of $24.75. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.77.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 14.37% and a net margin of 7.32%. Sell-side analysts expect that Liberty Energy will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Energy

In related news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 2,936 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $56,253.76. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $115,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 675,207 shares in the company, valued at $15,529,761. This trade represents a 0.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,973 shares of company stock worth $1,500,285 over the last quarter. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LBRT. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Liberty Energy by 369.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 234,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,672,000 after acquiring an additional 184,918 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 33,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 897,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,842,000 after purchasing an additional 24,825 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 120,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 26,036 shares in the last quarter. 98.22% of the stock is 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.