Short Interest in Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Decreases By 6.9%

Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,240,000 shares, a decrease of 6.9% from the August 15th total of 5,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LBTYA has been the subject of a number of research reports. TheStreet cut Liberty Global from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reduced their price objective on Liberty Global from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Liberty Global presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.77.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

Shares of LBTYA opened at $18.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. Liberty Global has a 1 year low of $15.22 and a 1 year high of $22.09.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 24th. The company reported ($1.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.89). The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 48.91% and a negative return on equity of 15.74%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Liberty Global will post -1.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrea Salvato sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $946,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 121,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,307,661.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Andrea Salvato sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total transaction of $946,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 121,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,307,661.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bryan H. Hall sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.82, for a total value of $99,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 133,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,653,937.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 127,220 shares of company stock valued at $2,339,497. Company insiders own 9.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LBTYA. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Liberty Global by 40.0% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its position in Liberty Global by 10.7% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 5,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Liberty Global by 5.1% during the second quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Liberty Global by 1.8% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 47,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kinneret Advisory LLC grew its position in Liberty Global by 2.3% during the first quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 40,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after buying an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. 34.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liberty Global Company Profile

Liberty Global plc, 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 intelligent WiFi features; internet services; security solutions, such as anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, and spam protection; smart home services; online storage solutions; web spaces; and Connect Box that delivers in-home Wi-Fi service.