Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Earns Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $33.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LBTYA. Barclays lifted their target price on Liberty Global from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Liberty Global from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. New Street Research reissued a neutral rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. TheStreet raised shares of Liberty Global from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Liberty Global from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $24.25.

Liberty Global Stock Up 0.6 %

Liberty Global stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $16.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,875,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,907. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Liberty Global has a 52-week low of $15.01 and a 52-week high of $20.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.18.

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

Insider Transactions at Liberty Global

In other news, EVP Andrea Salvato sold 32,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total transaction of $573,533.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 102,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Liberty Global news, CAO Jason Waldron sold 11,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.29, for a total value of $216,549.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 70,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,147.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea Salvato sold 32,403 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total transaction of $573,533.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 valued at $2,046,783 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Liberty Global by 148.1% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the first quarter worth $91,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Global in the fourth quarter valued at $106,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Liberty Global in the fourth quarter valued at $141,000. Finally, Tevis Investment Management purchased a new position in Liberty Global in the first quarter valued at $180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.20% of the company’s stock.

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.