AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Liberty Global Ltd $LBTYA

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Liberty Global Ltd by 559.5%, acquiring over 926,000 additional shares during the first quarter.
• Liberty Global's recent financial performance showed a disappointing earnings report, with an EPS of ($8.09), missing the consensus estimate by $7.54.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a mixed outlook on Liberty Global, with a consensus target price of $14.26 and ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Sell".

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Free Report) by 559.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,092,670 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 926,993 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.32% of Liberty Global worth $12,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Global by 81.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Liberty Global in the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Liberty Global in the 1st quarter worth about $64,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Liberty Global in the 1st quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Global by 2,370.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,745 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 6,472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LBTYA. Zacks Research raised Liberty Global to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Berenberg Bank upgraded Liberty Global to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on Liberty Global from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $21.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Liberty Global from $10.60 to $11.80 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.26.

Liberty Global Price Performance

Shares of LBTYA traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.89. 1,172,181 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,684,828. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of -1.22 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $10.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.59. Liberty Global Ltd has a 12 month low of $9.02 and a 12 month high of $21.56.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported ($8.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.55) by ($7.54). The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 60.38% and a negative return on equity of 22.64%. Equities analysts expect that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Charles H. R. Bracken sold 60,000 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.31, for a total transaction of $678,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 33,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,718.20. This trade represents a 64.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jason Waldron sold 34,380 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.55, for a total value of $397,089.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $96,823.65. This trade represents a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 136,980 shares of company stock worth $1,577,091. 11.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband internet, video, fixed-line telephony, and mobile communications services to residential and business customers. It offers value-added broadband services, such as WiFi features, security, anti-virus, firewall, spam protection, smart home services, online storage solutions, and web spaces; and Connect Box that delivers in-home Wi-Fi service.