AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 926,993 Shares of 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 grew its position in shares of Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Free Report) by 559.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 81.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 2,370.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 6,472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Liberty Global from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Zacks Research raised Liberty Global to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Liberty Global from $10.60 to $11.80 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised Liberty Global to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Liberty Global has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.26.

Insider Activity at Liberty Global

In related news, CFO Charles H. R. Bracken sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.31, for a total transaction of $678,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 33,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,718.20. The trade was a 64.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Miranda Curtis sold 42,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $501,402.00. Following the sale, the director owned 129,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,919.85. The trade was a 24.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 136,980 shares of company stock worth $1,577,091. 13.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

Shares of LBTYA traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,511,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,725,911. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.22 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $10.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Liberty Global Ltd has a 52 week low of $9.02 and a 52 week high of $21.56.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported ($8.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by ($7.54). The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Global Profile

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.