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

Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $10.58 and last traded at $10.70, with a volume of 607399 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $11.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on LBTYA shares. Bank of America lowered Liberty Global from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $13.10 to $12.60 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Liberty Global from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $24.70 to $12.40 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Liberty Global from $20.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Liberty Global from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.75.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.15. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Liberty Global had a return on equity of 9.83% and a net margin of 23.09%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Liberty Global Ltd. will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Nicholas V. Tompras sold 57,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.94, for a total transaction of $737,580.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,153 shares in the company, valued at $209,019.82. The trade was a 77.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $776,222.72. This represents a 61.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.51% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Liberty Global by 110.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the 3rd quarter worth $433,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Liberty Global by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Liberty Global by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,188 shares of the company's stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Liberty Global by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 10,807 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 4,142 shares during the last quarter. 37.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.