Analyzing Liberty Global (LBTYB) and Its Peers

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYB) is one of 259 publicly-traded companies in the “Media” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Liberty Global to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.5% of Liberty Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.0% of shares of all “Media” companies are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Liberty Global shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 17.8% of shares of all “Media” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Liberty Global and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Liberty Global	-62.11%	-28.82%	-13.28%
Liberty Global Competitors	-19.88%	-49.41%	-5.25%

Risk and Volatility

Liberty Global has a beta of 0.43, indicating that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Liberty Global’s competitors have a beta of 1.02, indicating that their average share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Liberty Global and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Liberty Global	$4.88 billion	-$7.14 billion	-1.38
Liberty Global Competitors	$2.95 billion	-$39.20 million	19.62

Liberty Global has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its competitors. Liberty Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Liberty Global and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Liberty Global	1	0	0	0	1.00
Liberty Global Competitors	2208	6828	10789	469	2.47

As a group, “Media” companies have a potential upside of 15.41%. Given Liberty Global’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Liberty Global has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

Liberty Global competitors beat Liberty Global on 11 of the 13 factors compared.

Liberty Global Company Profile

Liberty Global Plc is an international television and broadband company, which engages in the provision of broadband communications services. It operates through the following geographical segments: U.K. and Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Central and Eastern Europe, and Central and Corporate. Its products include broadband, WiFi, connectivity products, TV platforms, and TV content. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.