Hennessy Advisors Inc. Invests $48.41 Million in Echostar CORP $ECHO

Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 476,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,405,000. Echostar accounts for about 1.5% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ECHO. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Echostar during the 4th quarter worth about $568,218,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Echostar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,524,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,595,000 after buying an additional 48,671 shares during the period. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd increased its stake in shares of Echostar by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 2,181,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,154,000 after buying an additional 887,611 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Echostar by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,767,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,110,000 after acquiring an additional 22,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Echostar during the fourth quarter worth about $182,111,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Williams Trading set a $155.00 target price on Echostar in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Echostar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Echostar from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. New Street Research set a $165.00 target price on Echostar in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective on shares of Echostar in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Echostar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 52,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $6,362,906.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 865,633 shares in the company, valued at $104,741,593. The trade was a 5.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen J. Bye sold 8,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.83, for a total transaction of $764,273.64. Following the transaction, the director owned 653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,658.99. The trade was a 92.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 66,094 shares of company stock worth $7,587,592 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Echostar Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ECHO opened at $86.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.48 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.20. Echostar CORP has a 52-week low of $56.26 and a 52-week high of $147.25.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter. Echostar had a negative net margin of 38.71% and a negative return on equity of 1.28%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Echostar CORP will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Echostar

EchoStar Corporation is a communications company that provides satellite and wireless services, video distribution, and broadband connectivity solutions. Its business has historically been centered on satellite technology and related services, serving customers through a range of connectivity and network offerings.

The company operates through several segments that support pay-TV, enterprise, government, and consumer communications needs. Its services and technologies have included satellite television distribution, broadband satellite access, network infrastructure, and wireless communications capabilities.

EchoStar was founded in 1980 and has long been associated with satellite communications in the United States.