Barclays Cuts Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Price Target to $20.00

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $22.00 to $20.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on LBTYA. Citigroup raised Liberty Global from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America cut Liberty Global from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. HSBC lowered Liberty Global from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, March 18th. TheStreet raised Liberty Global from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, New Street Research reissued a neutral rating on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $24.25.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

Shares of LBTYA stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.18. 2,301,728 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,616,125. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.19. Liberty Global has a fifty-two week low of $15.01 and a fifty-two week high of $20.56.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter. Liberty Global had a negative return on equity of 14.07% and a negative net margin of 37.27%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.59) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Liberty Global will post -0.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liberty Global news, Director J David Wargo sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total value of $520,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 159,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,769,615.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director J David Wargo sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total value of $520,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 159,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,769,615.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrea Salvato sold 32,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total value of $573,533.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,629 shares of company stock worth $2,046,783 in the last quarter. 11.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Global

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LBTYA. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Liberty Global during the 3rd quarter worth about $232,000. Advisor Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Global in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC bought a new position in Liberty Global in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Simplex Trading LLC boosted its position in Liberty Global by 166.7% in the 3rd quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 54,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 34,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,020,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,464,000 after buying an additional 21,174 shares during the period. 37.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Liberty Global

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.