Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Stock

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Liberty Global from $9 to $11, implying 13.34% upside, but kept a neutral rating. Overall, analysts’ average rating is “Reduce,” with a $10 average target.
• Liberty Global shares fell 5.8% Thursday. Its latest quarter missed estimates, reporting an EPS loss of $0.42 versus the expected $0.01 loss, and revenue of $1.12 billion versus $1.14 billion expected.
• Insiders have been buying shares: directors purchased a combined 696,303 shares worth about $12.7 million over the past 90 days.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $9.00 to $11.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Citigroup's price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.34% from the stock's previous close.

LILAK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $10.00.

Liberty Global Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:LILAK traded down $0.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.71. The stock had a trading volume of 969,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,253,219. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.09. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.45 and a beta of 0.75. Liberty Global has a fifty-two week low of $4.76 and a fifty-two week high of $10.42.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.42) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 3.86% and a negative return on equity of 8.50%.

Insider Activity at Liberty Global

In other news, Director John Malone bought 69,454 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.50 per share, for a total transaction of $590,359.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 306,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,853.50. The trade was a 29.29% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Angoitia Alfonso De purchased 313,104 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $6,559,528.80. Following the acquisition, the director owned 476,190 shares in the company, valued at $9,976,180.50. This trade represents a 191.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 696,303 shares of company stock valued at $12,702,161. Corporate insiders own 9.66% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LILAK. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 119.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 266,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,194,000 after buying an additional 145,311 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the third quarter worth about $763,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Liberty Global by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Global by 94.0% in the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 35,300 shares of the company's stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 17,100 shares in the last quarter. 52.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liberty Global Company Profile

Liberty Global plc is an international telecommunications and media company that provides broadband, mobile, television and related digital services through operating companies and joint ventures. Its businesses serve customers in several European markets, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Its operations include Virgin Media O2 in the UK, a joint venture with Telefónica; VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands, also a joint venture; and businesses such as Telenet in Belgium and Sunrise in Switzerland.

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