A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Liberty Oilfield Services (LBRT Quick QuoteLBRT - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 4.6% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Liberty Oilfield Services due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Liberty Energy Q1 Earnings Beat

Liberty Energy reported earnings of 90 cents per share for first-quarter 2023, 12.5% higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. It also outperformed the year-ago quarter’s loss of 3 cents per share. This improvement was primarily due to strong equipment and services execution, and higher activity in the reported quarter.

Total revenues came in at $1.3 billion, marginally beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate (by 0.8%) and 59.2% higher than the prior-year quarter’s level of $792.8 million.

Adjusted EBITDA was $329.9 million compared with $91.8 million reported in the year-ago quarter.

Ahead of the earnings release, Liberty Energy’s board of directors announced a cash dividend of 5 cents per common share, payable on Jun 20, 2023, to stockholders of record as of Jun 6, 2023.

Balance Sheet & Capital Expenditure

As of Mar 31, LBRT had approximately $20.9 million in cash and cash equivalents. Its long-term debt of $210 million represented a debt-to-capitalization of 11.7%. The company’s liquidity — cash balance, plus revolving credit facility — amounted to $308 million.

In the reported quarter, Liberty Energy spent $129.7 million on its capital program.

Guidance

The company plans to expand its Liberty Power Innovations vertical integration strategy, including sand, logistics, manufacturing and designing capabilities. It mainly focuses on compressed natural gas and field gas processing services to meet the increasing demand for natural gas.

Liberty Energy maintains a positive outlook for the North American hydrocarbons market. It does so due to rising demand in emerging markets and a gradual recovery in China, despite the temporary softness in domestic natural gas markets and fracking markets. High utilization levels and robust demand in larger, oilier basins are expected to offset the softer conditions in gas basins.

The company anticipates North America exploration and production (E&P) companies to remain strong and disciplined in their development programs. It expects them to do so even during economic turbulence like an unexpected fall in oil prices due to financial sector stress and recessionary risk on global oil demand.

However, concerns regarding such risks have eased as a surprise OPEC+ output cut and a falling Russian supply drove oil prices back to pre-stress levels.












 

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, estimates revision have trended upward during the past month.

The consensus estimate has shifted 11.62% due to these changes.

VGM Scores

At this time, Liberty Oilfield Services has a strong Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a C. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Liberty Oilfield Services has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.