EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) Receives $132.17 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $132.1667.

SATS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $82.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

EchoStar Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ SATS opened at $114.82 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $106.92 and its 200 day moving average is $76.30. EchoStar has a 52 week low of $14.90 and a 52 week high of $132.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a market cap of $33.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.56 and a beta of 1.01.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($44.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($43.14). EchoStar had a negative net margin of 85.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.52) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that EchoStar will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other EchoStar news, COO John Swieringa sold 22,000 shares of EchoStar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 283,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,091,496.06. The trade was a 7.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total value of $30,106,684.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 376,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,688,870.65. The trade was a 43.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 55.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SATS. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of EchoStar by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of EchoStar by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,800 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton bought a new stake in EchoStar in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of EchoStar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 58,941 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,501,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EchoStar Company 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.