UBS Group AG Increases Stock Position in Liberty Global Ltd $LBTYA

Key Points

• UBS Group AG boosted its Liberty Global stake by 44.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 844,265 additional shares and bringing its total to 2,754,981 shares valued at about $30.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their positions, and hedge funds now own about 37.2% of Liberty Global’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans cautious: the stock has a Hold consensus rating with a $16.15 price target, while Liberty Global recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.96, beating estimates.

UBS Group AG grew its position in Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Free Report) by 44.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,754,981 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 844,265 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.82% of Liberty Global worth $30,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Liberty Global by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,551,242 shares of the company's stock worth $50,701,000 after buying an additional 1,185,935 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Global by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,318 shares of the company's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 5,961 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial increased its holdings in Liberty Global by 886.2% during the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 84,609 shares of the company's stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 76,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Global by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 31,280 shares of the company's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 7,625 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LBTYA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Liberty Global from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Liberty Global from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Liberty Global from $12.00 to $12.60 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Liberty Global presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.15.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

NASDAQ LBTYA opened at $12.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.50. Liberty Global Ltd has a 52-week low of $9.02 and a 52-week high of $13.52.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by $1.31. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 109.64% and a negative return on equity of 47.65%. On average, research analysts predict that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.44 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Global Company Profile

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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