Townsquare Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 66,300 Liberty Global Ltd $LBTYA

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC has acquired 66,300 shares of Liberty Global Ltd, valued at approximately $763,000, during the first quarter.
• Liberty Global reported a significant earnings miss with an EPS of (+$8.09), falling short of analyst expectations.
• Recent targeting by analysts varies, with Citigroup and Barclays setting target prices at $11.00, while Benchmark raised its target to $21.00.

Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 66,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Liberty Global by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 323,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 8,096 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Liberty Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $295,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Liberty Global by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 25,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Liberty Global by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 958,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,229,000 after purchasing an additional 462,519 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the 4th quarter worth $694,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.20% of the company's stock.

Liberty Global Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ LBTYA traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $11.45. 1,352,049 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,388,728. Liberty Global Ltd has a 1 year low of $9.02 and a 1 year high of $21.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.17 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 60.38% and a negative return on equity of 22.64%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Global

In other news, CAO Jason Waldron sold 34,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.55, for a total transaction of $397,089.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $96,823.65. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Charles H. R. Bracken sold 60,000 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $375,718.20. This trade represents a 64.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 13.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays set a $11.00 price target on Liberty Global and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Liberty Global to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Liberty Global from $10.60 to $11.80 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on Liberty Global from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $21.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Global has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.26.

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.