Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Sets New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Liberty Global shares hit a new 52-week low, falling to $8.34 from a prior close of $8.55. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with a $13.22 target price, although UBS and Barclays recently lowered their price targets and Weiss Ratings maintained a sell rating.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $1.07 per share, missing estimates by $0.59, while revenue of $1.17 billion also fell short of expectations. Liberty Global posted negative net margin and return on equity figures.

Shares of Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $8.34 and last traded at $8.3450, with a volume of 364,918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LBTYA. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Liberty Global from $12.10 to $11.90 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Liberty Global from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.22.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 0.99.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported ($1.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.59). The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 62.12% and a negative return on equity of 28.83%. As a group, analysts predict that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBTYA. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its holdings in Liberty Global by 9.7% in the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 23,644,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,866,000 after acquiring an additional 2,097,847 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Liberty Global by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 11,752,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734,423 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Liberty Global by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,832,267 shares of the company's stock worth $106,782,000 after acquiring an additional 521,750 shares in the last quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Liberty Global by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 5,183,133 shares of the company's stock worth $57,740,000 after acquiring an additional 857,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Liberty Global by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,245,059 shares of the company's stock worth $36,896,000 after acquiring an additional 251,727 shares in the last quarter. 37.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liberty Global Company Profile

Liberty Global plc is an international telecommunications and media company that invests in and operates broadband, mobile, fixed-line voice and television businesses. Its services generally include high-speed internet, wireless connectivity, digital television, streaming and related communications products for residential and business customers.

The company has operations and strategic interests across Europe. Its portfolio includes Sunrise in Switzerland and Telenet in Belgium, while Liberty Global also holds significant joint-venture interests in Virgin Media O2 in the United Kingdom and VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands.

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