5,000 Shares in EchoStar Corporation $SATS Purchased by SOL Capital Management CO

SOL Capital Management CO bought a new stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of EchoStar by 6,942.9% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 522,022 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,862,000 after purchasing an additional 514,610 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC acquired a new position in EchoStar in the third quarter valued at about $301,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of EchoStar by 2.7% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 109,377 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 19,515 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 4,460 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,848 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO John Swieringa sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total value of $1,481,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 283,509 shares of the company’s stock, 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 through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $30,106,684.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 376,805 shares in the company, valued at $39,688,870.65. This represents a 43.14% 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on SATS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on EchoStar from $28.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price objective on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of EchoStar from $100.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.17.

EchoStar Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $123.27 on Friday. EchoStar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $14.90 and a fifty-two week high of $132.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $94.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.36. 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 stock has a market cap of $35.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.75 and a beta of 1.02.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative net margin of 85.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.52) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that EchoStar Corporation will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.