Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) vs. BCE (NYSE:BCE) Financial Analysis

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) and BCE (NYSE:BCE) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Liberty Global and BCE”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Liberty Global	$4.77 billion	0.75	$1.59 billion	($6.09)	-1.74
BCE	$17.82 billion	1.24	$251.05 million	$4.81	4.94

Liberty Global has higher earnings, but lower revenue than BCE. Liberty Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BCE, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Liberty Global and BCE, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Liberty Global	1	6	2	0	2.11
BCE	4	1	6	2	2.46

Liberty Global currently has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 41.64%. BCE has a consensus price target of $29.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.13%. Given Liberty Global’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Liberty Global is more favorable than BCE.

Risk and Volatility

Liberty Global has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BCE has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

37.2% of Liberty Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.5% of BCE shares are held by institutional investors. 13.3% of Liberty Global shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of BCE shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Liberty Global	-41.44%	-14.71%	-7.29%
BCE	25.62%	17.35%	3.66%

Summary

BCE beats Liberty Global on 11 of the 15 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 BCE

BCE Inc., a communications company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Bell Communication and Technology Services, and Bell Media. The Bell Communication and Technology Services segment provides wireless products and services including mobile data and voice plans and devices; wireline products and services comprising data, including internet access, internet protocol television, cloud-based services, and business solutions, as well as voice, and other communication services and products; and satellite TV and connectivity services for residential, small and medium-sized business, government, and large enterprise customers. This segment also buys and sells local telephone, long distance, and data and other services from or to resellers and other carriers; and operates consumer electronics retail stores. The Bell Media segment provides conventional TV, specialty TV, pay TV, streaming services, digital media services, radio broadcasting services, and out-of-home advertising services. BCE Inc. was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Verdun, Canada.