Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA)

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Liberty Global from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. TheStreet raised Liberty Global from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Liberty Global from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. HSBC cut Liberty Global from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, New Street Research reissued a neutral rating on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $24.25.

Liberty Global Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Liberty Global stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $16.74. 1,875,633 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,784,907. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Liberty Global has a twelve month low of $15.01 and a twelve month high of $20.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.18.

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

Insider Activity

In other Liberty Global news, CAO Jason Waldron sold 11,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.29, for a total value of $216,549.54. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 70,666 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,147.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrea Salvato sold 32,403 shares of the company’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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jason Waldron sold 11,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.29, for a total transaction of $216,549.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 70,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,147.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,629 shares of company stock valued at $2,046,783. 11.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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