SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Position in EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) by 136.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,689 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,042 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $272,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,230,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of EchoStar by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,776,238 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $118,546,000 after purchasing an additional 62,674 shares during the last quarter. Stonehill Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,235,000. Finally, Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of EchoStar by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $74,460,000 after purchasing an additional 927,695 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In related news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen acquired 1,551,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.04 per share, with a total value of $43,499,994.20. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 1,551,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,499,994.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $27.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.61. EchoStar Co. has a one year low of $11.83 and a one year high of $30.08. The company has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.01 and a beta of 0.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SATS shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $15.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of EchoStar to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.75.

About EchoStar

EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Pay-TV, Retail Wireless, 5G Network Deployment, Broadband and Satellite Services. The Pay-TV segment offers a direct broadcast and fixed satellite services; designs, develops, and distributes receiver system; and provides digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission and, other services to third-party pay-TV providers; and multichannel, live-linear and on-demand streaming over-the-top internet-based domestic, international, Latino, and Freestream video programming services under the DISH and SLING brand names.