Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $4.40 Million Investment in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 40,513 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,403,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SATS. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the third quarter worth $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $124.20 on Friday. EchoStar Corporation has a 52 week low of $14.90 and a 52 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $123.04 and its 200-day moving average is $109.10. The company has a market capitalization of $35.88 billion, a PE ratio of -2.48 and a beta of 0.95.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). EchoStar had a negative net margin of 97.56% and a negative return on equity of 4.80%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.71) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that EchoStar Corporation will post -2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at $88,520,463.36. This represents a 7.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 55.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SATS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $155.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.14.

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.