Liberty Energy Downgraded by Royal Bank of Canada

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) recently experienced a downgrade from the Royal Bank of Canada, shifting its rating from "outperform" to "sector perform." This adjustment was announced in a research report published on Monday. The bank has established a price target of $19.00 for the stock, which suggests a potential upside of approximately 29.91% from Liberty Energy's previous closing price.

In addition to this downgrade, various other brokerage firms have shared their insights regarding Liberty Energy. For instance, ATB Capital Markets upgraded the company's rating from "hold" to "strong-buy" in a report released on December 10. Conversely, TD Cowen has lowered its price target from $18.00 to $16.00 while maintaining a "hold" rating on the stock in reports from January 8. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs began their coverage with a "neutral" rating and a price target of $19.00 for Liberty Energy in a note issued on December 13. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price from $23.00 to $25.00, endorsing a "buy" rating, while Citigroup raised its target from $19.00 to $22.00, also giving a "neutral" rating on January 7. Overall, six analysts currently hold a "hold" rating, four recommend buying, and three have assigned a strong buy to the stock, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.80 as reported by MarketBeat.

Current Stock Metrics

Liberty Energy's stock opened at $14.63 on Monday, with a one-year low of $13.86 and a high of $24.75. The company possesses a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, and a beta value of 1.58. The fifty-day moving average stands at $17.94, while the two-hundred-day moving average is $18.60. Financial metrics indicate a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97, and a current ratio of 1.27.

Liberty Energy disclosed its quarterly earnings results on January 29, reporting an earnings per share (EPS) figure of $0.10, which fell short of analyst expectations of $0.16 by $0.06. The company's net margin is recorded at 7.32%, and it boasts a return on equity of 14.28%. Analysts forecast that Liberty Energy's EPS for the current fiscal year will reach $0.58.

Insider Transactions

In other news regarding Liberty Energy, CFO Michael Stock recently sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock on December 30, at an average price of $19.51, totaling approximately $97,550. Post-transaction, he retains 700,207 shares valued at around $13,661,038.57, indicating a 0.71% decrease in his ownership. This sale was reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the past quarter, insiders have sold 40,000 shares worth $808,350, with insider ownership accounting for 1.90% of the total stock.

Institutional Holdings

Many institutional investors have recently made adjustments in their holdings of Liberty Energy. Palogic Value Management L.P. acquired a new stake during the fourth quarter, valued at approximately $1,492,000. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC has also purchased a new stake valued at around $728,000 in the same quarter. Moreover, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired another new stake worth $3,365,000. UBS Asset Management raised its stake by 5.4%, now owning 338,798 shares valued at $6,739,000 after adding 17,440 shares during this period. Additionally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position valued at about $312,000. Currently, institutional investors own 98.22% of Liberty Energy's stock.

Company Overview

Liberty Energy Inc specializes in providing hydraulic services and related technologies specifically designed for onshore oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in North America. The company's offerings include hydraulic fracturing services and complementary services such as wireline services, proppant delivery solutions, field gas processing, and analytics, as well as logistics solutions for well site fueling.

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