Insider Buying: Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Director Acquires $188,696.74 in Stock

Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LILAK) Director John Malone bought 21,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.98 per share, for a total transaction of $188,696.74. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,412,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,681,331.50. The trade was a 1.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Liberty Global Price Performance

Liberty Global stock opened at $8.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of -17.35 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.03. Liberty Global PLC has a 1-year low of $4.76 and a 1-year high of $9.13.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.15). Liberty Global had a negative return on equity of 8.50% and a negative net margin of 2.20%.The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LILAK. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 44.5% in the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,395,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,788,000 after purchasing an additional 4,738,495 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Liberty Global by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,687,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,439,000 after buying an additional 129,952 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP increased its position in Liberty Global by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 2,895,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,602,000 after buying an additional 533,221 shares during the period. Alta Fundamental Advisers LLC increased its position in Liberty Global by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Alta Fundamental Advisers LLC now owns 2,053,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,320,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Liberty Global by 3.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 796,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,029,000 after buying an additional 29,933 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LILAK shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Liberty Global from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.00.

Liberty Global Company Profile

Liberty Global plc is an international telecommunications and media company that provides broadband, mobile, video and fixed-line communications services. Its operations have historically focused on markets across Europe, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland and Ireland, although the company has changed its portfolio over time through acquisitions, disposals and strategic investments.

The company offers services such as high-speed internet, mobile connectivity, television and voice communications to residential customers, as well as data, connectivity and communications solutions for businesses.