Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

LBTYA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Liberty Global from $12.10 to $11.90 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. New Street Research upgraded shares of Liberty Global from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Liberty Global from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.78.

Liberty Global Price Performance

NASDAQ:LBTYA opened at $9.90 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $9.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.97. Liberty Global has a 52-week low of $7.36 and a 52-week high of $13.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.34 and a beta of 1.06.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $1.64. Liberty Global had a negative return on equity of 25.14% and a negative net margin of 44.40%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Liberty Global will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Global

In related news, CEO Michael T. Fries acquired 110,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.37 per share, for a total transaction of $1,030,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,238,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,604,979.25. This trade represents a 9.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Enrique Rodriguez bought 211,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.45 per share, for a total transaction of $1,996,907.85. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 602,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,692,472.10. This trade represents a 54.04% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 4.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LBTYA. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Liberty Global during the 3rd quarter worth $150,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Liberty Global by 17.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 34,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 5,144 shares in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Global in the third quarter valued at about $804,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Global in the third quarter valued at about $127,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Global in the third quarter valued at about $105,000. 37.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Liberty Global Company Profile

Liberty Global is an international telecommunications company that provides broadband, mobile, television and fixed-line voice services through operating companies and joint ventures. Its businesses serve residential and business customers, with offerings that include internet access, mobile connectivity, video services and related communications products.

The company’s European portfolio includes Virgin Media O2 in the United Kingdom, VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands and Telenet in Belgium.