Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Downgraded to Sector Perform Rating by Royal Bank of Canada

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $19.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 29.91% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Liberty Energy from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Liberty Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.80.

Liberty Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE LBRT opened at $14.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Liberty Energy has a fifty-two week low of $13.86 and a fifty-two week high of $24.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82 and a beta of 1.58.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 14.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Energy news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total value of $416,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 680,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,161,909.74. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $808,350 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in Liberty Energy by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,115,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640,119 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Liberty Energy by 83.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,828,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,043,000 after buying an additional 2,197,352 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 61.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,146,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193,918 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Liberty Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $20,337,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 285.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 700,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,379,000 after acquiring an additional 518,830 shares during the period. 98.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.