Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYK – Get Free Report) and Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT – Get Free Report) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Liberty Global and Fluent’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Liberty Global | -62.12% | -28.83% | -13.28% |
| Fluent | -11.48% | -155.09% | -30.36% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
46.1% of Liberty Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.3% of Fluent shares are held by institutional investors. 9.9% of Liberty Global shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 38.4% of Fluent shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility & Risk
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Liberty Global and Fluent, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Liberty Global | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Fluent | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
Fluent has a consensus target price of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 51.79%. Given Fluent’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fluent is more favorable than Liberty Global.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Liberty Global and Fluent”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Liberty Global | $4.88 billion | 0.73 | -$7.14 billion | ($8.98) | -1.16 |
| Fluent | $208.76 million | 0.50 | -$27.17 million | ($0.77) | -4.28 |
Fluent has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Liberty Global. Fluent is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Liberty Global, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of 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 Fluent
Fluent, Inc. provides data-driven digital marketing services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Fluent and All Other segments. It offers customer acquisition services by operating digital marketing campaigns, through which the company connects its advertiser clients with consumers. The company also delivers data and performance-based marketing executions to various consumer brands, direct marketers, and agencies across a range of industries, including financial products and services, media and entertainment, health and life sciences, retail and consumer, and staffing and recruitment. Fluent, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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