Short Interest in Liberty Broadband Co. (NASDAQ:LBRDK) Expands By 46.6%

Liberty Broadband Co. (NASDAQ:LBRDK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,120,000 shares, an increase of 46.6% from the February 13th total of 2,810,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 901,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Liberty Broadband Stock Up 2.9 %

LBRDK stock traded up $2.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.38. 548,227 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 869,394. The stock has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 1.06. Liberty Broadband has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $101.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Liberty Broadband (NASDAQ:LBRDK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.67 by ($1.63). The company had revenue of $253.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.50 million. Liberty Broadband had a return on equity of 8.45% and a net margin of 78.07%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Liberty Broadband will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Liberty Broadband in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company.

Insider Transactions at Liberty Broadband

In other Liberty Broadband news, CEO Gregory B. Maffei sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total value of $9,967,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,435,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,447,313.44. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Broadband in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Liberty Broadband in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Liberty Broadband by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Liberty Broadband by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Liberty Broadband in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 80.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Liberty Broadband Company Profile

Liberty Broadband Corporation engages in the communications businesses. The company's GCI Holdings segment provides data, wireless, video, voice, and managed services to residential customers, businesses, governmental entities, educational, and medical institutions in Alaska under the GCI brand.