BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Trims Holdings in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 71.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,003 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 208,872 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $6,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new position in EchoStar during the third quarter worth $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 593.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,875 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in EchoStar by 398.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,049 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other EchoStar news, COO John Swieringa sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total value of $1,481,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 283,509 shares in the company, valued at $19,091,496.06. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $30,106,684.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 376,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,688,870.65. This represents a 43.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price target on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.83.

EchoStar Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $111.61 on Friday. EchoStar Corporation has a 52 week low of $14.90 and a 52 week high of $132.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $109.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.33. The company has a market cap of $32.13 billion, a PE ratio of -2.49 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($44.37) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($43.14). EchoStar had a positive return on equity of 0.39% and a negative net margin of 85.36%.The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.52) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that EchoStar Corporation will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EchoStar Profile

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.