BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Makes New Investment in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new position in EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 259,871 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,248,000. EchoStar accounts for about 0.6% of BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SATS. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of EchoStar by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in EchoStar by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in EchoStar by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,800 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in EchoStar by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 30,118 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,274,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EchoStar in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $5,688,995.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. This trade represents a 7.94% 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on SATS. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price objective on shares of EchoStar in a report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.14.

EchoStar Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of EchoStar stock opened at $127.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.61. The company has a market cap of $36.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 0.95. EchoStar Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $14.90 and a fifty-two week high of $147.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.30.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company posted ($0.71) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that EchoStar Corporation will post -3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EchoStar 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.