Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,870,000 shares, a drop of 9.5% from the September 15th total of 19,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,040,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.8 days. Approximately 11.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Liberty Energy stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.06. 4,261,906 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,474,152. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Liberty Energy has a fifty-two week low of $16.69 and a fifty-two week high of $24.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 22.85% and a net margin of 9.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a positive change from Liberty Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Liberty Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LBRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Liberty Energy from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Liberty Energy from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Insider Activity at Liberty Energy

In other Liberty Energy news, CFO Michael Stock sold 15,000 shares of Liberty Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $300,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 750,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,011,642.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Christopher A. Wright sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total value of $395,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,638,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,169,333.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Stock sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $300,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 750,207 shares in the company, valued at $15,011,642.07. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,945,650 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Liberty Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 69.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 27.7% during 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 period. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 45.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 43.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

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.