Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $25.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $20.00.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LBRT. Citigroup lifted their target price on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.90.

Liberty Energy Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LBRT opened at $15.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Liberty Energy has a 12-month low of $13.86 and a 12-month high of $24.75.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Liberty Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Liberty Energy’s payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of Liberty Energy 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 680,207 shares in the company, valued at $14,161,909.74. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $808,350. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LBRT. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 237.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 257.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Liberty Energy by 604.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Energy in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 2,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.