Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Liberty Global received a consensus “Hold” rating from six brokerages: four holds, one sell and one buy. The average 12-month price target was $13.23, versus a share price of $10.65.
• The company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting an adjusted loss of $1.07 per share versus the $0.48 expected, while revenue of $1.17 billion fell short of the $1.34 billion estimate.
• Institutional investors owned 37.2% of the company and several firms increased their positions, while director J. David Wargo sold 55,000 shares at an average price of $11.54.

Shares of Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.2250.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LBTYA. Barclays lowered their price objective on Liberty Global from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Liberty Global from $12.10 to $11.90 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Liberty Global from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J David Wargo sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.54, for a total transaction of $634,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 53,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $621,729.04. This trade represents a 50.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Liberty Global by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,754,981 shares of the company's stock worth $30,690,000 after purchasing an additional 844,265 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Liberty Global by 6.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,832,267 shares of the company's stock worth $106,782,000 after purchasing an additional 521,750 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Liberty Global by 167.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 284,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 178,366 shares during the last quarter. Amundi bought a new stake in Liberty Global during the first quarter valued at $6,196,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the first quarter worth $1,518,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.20% of the company's stock.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

Liberty Global stock opened at $10.65 on Monday. Liberty Global has a 12-month low of $9.43 and a 12-month high of $13.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $10.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.62.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported ($1.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.59). Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 62.12% and a negative return on equity of 28.83%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Liberty Global will post -1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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