EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $134.1667.

SATS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, April 20th.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of EchoStar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SATS. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,481,700,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in EchoStar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $568,218,000. Icahn Carl C acquired a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $332,513,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in EchoStar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,524,576 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $382,595,000 after purchasing an additional 48,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd increased its holdings in EchoStar by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 2,181,728 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $237,154,000 after purchasing an additional 887,611 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Stock Up 3.7%

SATS opened at $127.15 on Friday. EchoStar has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $137.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $118.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.79. The company has a market cap of $36.73 billion, a PE ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 0.95.

About EchoStar

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a global provider of satellite communication solutions, offering a suite of broadband and video delivery services to consumer, enterprise and government customers. The company operates two principal business segments: Broadband and Video. Through its Broadband segment, EchoStar delivers high-speed satellite internet access, managed network services and ground infrastructure for residential, commercial and rural markets. Its Video segment provides satellite fleet operations, teleport facilities and capacity-leasing services to video distributors and content providers.

In the Broadband segment, EchoStar’s Hughes Network Systems division designs and manufactures satellite broadband equipment, including user terminals and gateways, and develops advanced network management technologies.