Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILAK) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Liberty Latin America Ltd. (NASDAQ:LILAK - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $7.15, but opened at $6.85. Liberty Latin America shares last traded at $6.33, with a volume of 374,353 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($1.05). The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Liberty Latin America had a negative return on equity of 31.59% and a negative net margin of 14.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LILAK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Liberty Latin America from $9.40 to $8.30 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Liberty Latin America from $10.50 to $7.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Latin America

In other news, Director Brendan J. Paddick acquired 18,011 shares of Liberty Latin America stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.12 per share, for a total transaction of $110,227.32. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,437,518 shares in the company, valued at $8,797,610.16. This trade represents a 1.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 156,298 shares of company stock valued at $1,043,886. Company insiders own 9.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Latin America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LILAK. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Liberty Latin America by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 73,769 shares of the company's stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 2,798 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Liberty Latin America by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 639,448 shares of the company's stock worth $4,054,000 after acquiring an additional 4,233 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Liberty Latin America by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 11,879 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Liberty Latin America by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 68,880 shares of the company's stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 5,109 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Latin America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 52.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Liberty Latin America Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average price is $6.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Liberty Latin America Company Profile

Liberty Latin America Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides fixed, mobile, and subsea telecommunications services. The company operates through C&W Caribbean, C&W Panama, Liberty Networks, Liberty Puerto Rico, and Liberty Costa Rico segments. It offers communications and entertainment services, including video, broadband internet, fixed-line, telephony, and mobiles services to residential and business customers; and business products and services that include enterprise-grade connectivity, data center, hosting, and managed solutions, as well as information technology solutions for small and medium enterprises, international companies, and governmental agencies.