EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $138.00.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. New Street Research assumed coverage on EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research lowered EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Insider Activity at EchoStar

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the company’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 directly owned 823,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company’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 value of $5,688,995.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EchoStar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in EchoStar in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EchoStar Stock Performance

Shares of SATS opened at $137.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $120.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.02. EchoStar has a 52-week low of $14.90 and a 52-week high of $139.54. The firm has a market cap of $39.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.74 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.03). EchoStar had a negative net margin of 97.56% and a negative return on equity of 4.80%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.71) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that EchoStar will post -2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.