Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Hits New 1-Year Low After Earnings Miss

Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $9.55 and last traded at $9.5730, with a volume of 2673544 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.29.

The company reported ($1.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.59). Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 109.64% and a negative return on equity of 47.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LBTYA. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Global from $12.60 to $12.10 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Liberty Global from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Liberty Global from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.02.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Global

In other Liberty Global news, Director J David Wargo sold 55,000 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.54, for a total value of $634,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $621,729.04. The trade was a 50.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,423,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,751,520 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the fourth quarter valued at $42,238,000. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 10,018,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,605,000 after buying an additional 2,268,065 shares during the last quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Global by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 23,644,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,866,000 after buying an additional 2,097,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Global by 124.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,149,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,947,000 after buying an additional 1,190,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 37.20% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Global Trading Down 6.6%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -0.60 and a beta of 0.93.

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.