Comparing Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) and Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT)

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) and Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Liberty Global and Uniti Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Liberty Global	N/A	N/A	N/A
Uniti Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Liberty Global and Uniti Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Liberty Global	1	4	2	0	2.14
Uniti Group	0	7	1	1	2.33

Liberty Global currently has a consensus target price of $12.78, indicating a potential upside of 63.43%. Uniti Group has a consensus target price of $11.47, indicating a potential upside of 125.83%. Given Uniti Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Uniti Group is more favorable than Liberty Global.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Liberty Global and Uniti Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Liberty Global	N/A	N/A	N/A	($8.98)	-0.87
Uniti Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	$2.71	1.87

Liberty Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Uniti Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

37.2% of Liberty Global shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.5% of Uniti Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Liberty Global shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Uniti Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Uniti Group beats Liberty Global on 5 of the 7 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company provides various tiers of digital video programming and audio services, as well as digital video recorders and multimedia home gateway systems; Horizon 5, a cloud-based, multi-screen entertainment platform that combines linear television, including recording and replay features and video-on-demand services; Horizon Go, an online mobile app; and channels, including general entertainment, sports, movies, series, documentaries, lifestyles, news, adult, children, and ethnic and foreign channels. In addition, it offers postpaid and prepaid mobile services; circuit-switched telephony services; and personal call manager, unified messaging, and a second or third phone line at an incremental cost. Further, the company offers business services comprising voice, advanced data, video, wireless, cloud-based services, and mobile and converged fixed-mobile services to small or home offices, small businesses, and medium and large enterprises, as well as on a wholesale basis to other operators. It operates in Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland, Slovakia, and internationally. Liberty Global Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About Uniti Group

Uniti Group, Inc. is a real estate investment trust company, which engages in the acquisition, construction, and leasing of properties. It operates through the following business segments: Uniti Leasing, Uniti Fiber, and Corporate. The Uniti Leasing segment involves mission-critical communications assets on exclusive or shared-tenant basis, and dark fiber network. The Uniti Fiber segment includes the operation of infrastructure solutions, cell site backhauls, and dark fiber. The Corporate segment consists of office and shared service functions. The company was founded in February 2014 and is headquartered in Little Rock, AR.