Empowered Funds LLC Raises Holdings in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in EchoStar Corporation (SATS) by 13.1%, owning approximately $9.96 million worth of shares after acquiring an additional 45,123 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors now hold 33.62% of EchoStar's stock, with notable increases from firms like Amalgamated Bank and Quarry LP during the same quarter.
• EchoStar reported a quarterly loss of ($1.06) earnings per share, slightly better than analyst estimates, but revenue decreased by 5.8% year-over-year to $3.72 billion.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 389,311 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,123 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.14% of EchoStar worth $9,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in EchoStar by 25.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,699,986 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $43,486,000 after buying an additional 343,590 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 325.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 940,950 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $21,548,000 after purchasing an additional 719,685 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 701,120 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $16,056,000 after purchasing an additional 44,867 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 391,985 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $10,027,000 after purchasing an additional 17,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in EchoStar by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 306,727 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $7,024,000 after acquiring an additional 84,829 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EchoStar Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS traded down $2.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $74.89. The stock had a trading volume of 5,557,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,500,576. EchoStar Corporation has a 12 month low of $14.90 and a 12 month high of $85.37. The company has a market capitalization of $21.55 billion, a PE ratio of -71.32 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's fifty day moving average is $39.94 and its 200 day moving average is $29.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported ($1.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by $0.06. EchoStar had a negative return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 2.04%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.76) EPS. The business's revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that EchoStar Corporation will post -1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on EchoStar from $28.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on EchoStar from $59.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Friday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $105.00 target price on EchoStar in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EchoStar presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John Swieringa sold 154,835 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.20, for a total value of $12,572,602.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 432 shares in the company, valued at $35,078.40. This represents a 99.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Paul Gaske sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.25, for a total value of $3,611,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,593 shares in the company, valued at $127,838.25. The trade was a 96.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 216,589 shares of company stock worth $17,563,544 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 55.90% of the company's stock.

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.