Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA – Get Free Report) and Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT – Get Free Report) are both communication services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings and valuation.
Risk and Volatility
Liberty Global has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Uniti Group has a beta of 1.42, suggesting that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Liberty Global and Uniti Group’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% |
| Uniti Group | 28.68% | -133.07% | -4.09% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Liberty Global and Uniti Group”s 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 | 0.55 | -$7.14 billion | ($8.98) | -0.88 |
| Uniti Group | $2.23 billion | 0.55 | $1.30 billion | $2.71 | 1.87 |
Uniti Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Liberty Global. Liberty Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Uniti Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Liberty Global and Uniti Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Liberty Global | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2.14 |
| Uniti Group | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2.33 |
Liberty Global currently has a consensus target price of $12.78, indicating a potential upside of 62.51%. Uniti Group has a consensus target price of $11.47, indicating a potential upside of 126.54%. Given Uniti Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Uniti Group is more favorable than Liberty Global.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
37.2% of Liberty Global shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.5% of Uniti Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Liberty Global shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Uniti Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Uniti Group 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 Uniti Group
Uniti Group, Inc. is a real estate investment trust company, which engages in the acquisition, construction, and leasing of properties. It operates through the following business segments: Uniti Leasing, Uniti Fiber, and Corporate. The Uniti Leasing segment involves mission-critical communications assets on exclusive or shared-tenant basis, and dark fiber network. The Uniti Fiber segment includes the operation of infrastructure solutions, cell site backhauls, and dark fiber. The Corporate segment consists of office and shared service functions. The company was founded in February 2014 and is headquartered in Little Rock, AR.
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