EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.75.

Several analysts have recently commented on SATS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of EchoStar to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on EchoStar in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EchoStar

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SATS. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in EchoStar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $183,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 11.0% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 116,034 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,067,000 after acquiring an additional 11,537 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new stake in EchoStar in the 2nd quarter valued at $833,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in EchoStar by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 265,257 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,724,000 after purchasing an additional 18,357 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in EchoStar during the 2nd quarter worth about $348,000. Institutional investors own 33.62% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Price Performance

Shares of SATS stock opened at $27.52 on Thursday. EchoStar has a 52 week low of $11.83 and a 52 week high of $30.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 0.70. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.82 and its 200-day moving average is $22.68.

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.