KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $2.57 Million Stake in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,706 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $2,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SATS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the second quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar in the third quarter worth $208,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in EchoStar by 20.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA bought a new position in EchoStar in the third quarter valued at $245,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EchoStar Stock Performance

SATS opened at $120.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. EchoStar Corporation has a 12-month low of $14.90 and a 12-month high of $120.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $89.30 and a 200-day moving average of $64.91. The stock has a market cap of $34.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.67 and a beta of 1.02.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($44.37) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.52) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that EchoStar Corporation will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 283,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,091,496.06. This trade represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $39,688,870.65. This trade represents a 43.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SATS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price objective on EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EchoStar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.17.

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.