Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $10.58 and last traded at $10.70, with a volume of 607399 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Liberty Global from $20.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America lowered Liberty Global from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $13.10 to $12.60 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Liberty Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $24.70 to $12.40 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.75.

Liberty Global Stock Up 0.4 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $6.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $7.25. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Liberty Global had a return on equity of 9.83% and a net margin of 23.09%. On average, analysts forecast that Liberty Global Ltd. will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Global news, major shareholder Nicholas V. Tompras sold 57,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.94, for a total transaction of $737,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,019.82. This trade represents a 77.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles H. R. Bracken sold 84,103 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.56, for a total value of $1,224,539.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $776,222.72. The trade was a 61.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Liberty Global by 394.8% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 219,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,803,000 after buying an additional 175,292 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Global by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,844,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,814,000 after acquiring an additional 198,269 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Global during the fourth quarter worth $304,000. Wolverine Trading LLC lifted its holdings in Liberty Global by 295.4% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC now owns 19,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 29,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the 4th quarter worth about $791,000. 37.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.