EchoStar Corporation $SATS Shares Purchased by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 28.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 41,074 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $3,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 575.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,321 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 30,090 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new position in EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $780,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,508,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,464,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in EchoStar by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 208,982 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,789,000 after acquiring an additional 24,132 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SATS. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of EchoStar from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised EchoStar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total value of $30,106,684.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 376,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,688,870.65. This trade represents a 43.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $114.03 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.23. EchoStar Corporation has a 1 year low of $14.90 and a 1 year high of $132.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.27 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

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.