EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) by 65.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,684 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,635 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its position in 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 buying an additional 927,695 shares during the last quarter. Stonehill Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in EchoStar during the third quarter worth about $9,235,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in EchoStar by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,776,238 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $118,546,000 after purchasing an additional 62,674 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,230,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in EchoStar by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 164,534 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,084,000 after purchasing an additional 40,533 shares in the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EchoStar Stock Up 3.2 %

SATS opened at $29.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.21 and a beta of 0.71. EchoStar Co. has a one year low of $11.83 and a one year high of $30.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at EchoStar

In related news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen acquired 1,551,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,499,994.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,551,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,499,994.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 55.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

EchoStar Company Profile

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.