Candriam S.C.A. Invests $1.52 Million in Liberty Global Ltd $LBTYA

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. opened a new position in Liberty Global during the first quarter, buying 125,586 shares worth about $1.52 million.
• Liberty Global reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $0.96, beating the consensus estimate of a loss, while revenue came in at $1.27 billion, matching expectations.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $16.02, while UBS recently trimmed its target to $12.10 and issued a neutral rating.

Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 125,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,518,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LBTYA. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Liberty Global by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,423,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,543,000 after buying an additional 5,751,520 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the fourth quarter worth $42,238,000. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Global by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 10,018,432 shares of the company's stock worth $111,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268,065 shares during the period. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 23,644,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,097,847 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 124.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,149,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,464 shares during the period. 37.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Liberty Global Trading Down 1.6%

Liberty Global stock opened at $10.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Liberty Global Ltd has a fifty-two week low of $9.62 and a fifty-two week high of $13.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.67 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $11.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.69.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by $1.31. Liberty Global had a negative return on equity of 47.65% and a negative net margin of 109.64%.The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LBTYA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Liberty Global from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Liberty Global from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Liberty Global from $12.60 to $12.10 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liberty Global presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Global

In other Liberty Global news, Director J David Wargo sold 55,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.54, for a total value of $634,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 53,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,729.04. This trade represents a 50.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global plc operates as a leading international telecommunications and television company, offering a wide array of broadband internet, digital cable television, fixed-line telephony and mobile services. Through its extensive fiber and hybrid-fiber coaxial networks, the company delivers high-speed internet connectivity, video on demand and interactive television platforms to residential and business customers. Its service portfolio includes digital voice, managed Wi-Fi solutions, home security and converged connectivity bundles designed to meet evolving consumer and enterprise demands.

The company's footprint spans key European markets, including the United Kingdom and Ireland under the Virgin Media brand, the Netherlands through Ziggo, Belgium via Telenet, and operations in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Poland and Luxembourg.

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