Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $16.16 Million Stock Holdings in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Gamco Investors boosted its EchoStar stake by 83.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 148,698 shares worth about $16.16 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or initiated large positions in EchoStar, while institutions now own 33.62% of the company and insiders hold 55.90%.
• EchoStar reported quarterly EPS of ($0.51), missing expectations, though revenue of $3.67 billion slightly topped estimates; meanwhile, analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average with a $137.14 target price.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) by 83.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,698 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 67,623 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.05% of EchoStar worth $16,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SATS. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,481,700,000. Icahn Carl C acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $332,513,000. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $98,819,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,199,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,736,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at EchoStar

In other EchoStar news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company's stock.

EchoStar Stock Performance

SATS opened at $136.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17. The company's fifty day moving average price is $121.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.69. EchoStar Corporation has a 1-year low of $14.90 and a 1-year high of $147.25. The company has a market cap of $39.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.72 and a beta of 0.95.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). EchoStar had a negative return on equity of 4.80% and a negative net margin of 97.56%.The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.71) EPS. On average, analysts expect that EchoStar Corporation will post -2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SATS has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of EchoStar from $129.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of EchoStar from $111.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EchoStar from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $137.14.

About EchoStar

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.

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