Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Stake in Viasat Inc. $VSAT

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp sharply increased its Viasat stake in the first quarter, boosting its holdings by 10,321.9% to 96,194 shares worth about $4.4 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on Viasat, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $84.11, even though some firms recently issued bearish calls.
• Viasat’s latest quarter disappointed on earnings, reporting a $0.02 EPS loss versus expectations for a $0.32 profit, while revenue of $1.17 billion also came in below estimates.

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT - Free Report) by 10,321.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,194 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 95,271 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.07% of Viasat worth $4,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Viasat in the fourth quarter valued at $830,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Viasat during the third quarter worth about $7,325,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 38,700 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 17,700 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viasat by 797.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 117,019 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $4,032,000 after purchasing an additional 103,981 shares during the period. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viasat by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 84,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,895,000 after purchasing an additional 42,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VSAT shares. Zacks Research cut Viasat from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Viasat in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Viasat and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $49.00 target price on shares of Viasat in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on shares of Viasat in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.11.

Viasat Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:VSAT opened at $71.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -246.48 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.81. Viasat Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.00 and a 52-week high of $93.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Viasat had a positive return on equity of 1.58% and a negative net margin of 0.73%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Viasat Inc. will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John P. Stenbit sold 653 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $46,846.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,123,288.78. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard A. Baldridge sold 27,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total value of $1,945,732.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 213,355 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,306,087.70. This represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 438,803 shares of company stock worth $28,655,600 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Viasat Company Profile

Viasat, Inc NASDAQ: VSAT provides high‐capacity satellite broadband and wireless communications services to consumer, commercial and government customers worldwide. The company designs and operates satellite systems and network infrastructure to deliver secure, high-speed connectivity across remote and underserved regions, as well as managed networking solutions for enterprises and public sector agencies.

Viasat's product offerings include residential and enterprise satellite internet services, in-flight connectivity for commercial airlines and business jets, and secure networking platforms tailored to defense and intelligence users.

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