BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Takes $28.25 Million Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 259,871 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,248,000. EchoStar makes up approximately 0.6% of BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. owned approximately 0.09% of EchoStar at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton bought a new stake in EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. BOKF NA lifted its stake in EchoStar by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 400 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SATS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. New Street Research initiated coverage on EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on EchoStar in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.14.

EchoStar Stock Performance

EchoStar stock opened at $127.42 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17. The company has a market capitalization of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $125.00 and its 200 day moving average is $111.61. EchoStar Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $147.25.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. EchoStar had a negative return on equity of 4.80% and a negative net margin of 97.56%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.71) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that EchoStar Corporation will post -3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In other EchoStar news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 55.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.