National Pension Service Purchases New Shares in Echostar CORP $ECHO

Key Points

• National Pension Service acquired 12,274 EchoStar shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.25 million. Institutional investors collectively own 33.62% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with EchoStar receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $134.88, well above its recent price of $93.14.
• EchoStar insiders sold 13,508 shares worth approximately $1.22 million in the last quarter, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $3.67 billion and a loss of $0.51 per share.

National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of Echostar CORP (NASDAQ:ECHO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,246,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Echostar during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,059,533,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Echostar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $568,218,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Echostar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,524,576 shares of the company's stock worth $382,595,000 after purchasing an additional 48,671 shares during the period. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd increased its position in shares of Echostar by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 2,181,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,154,000 after purchasing an additional 887,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Echostar by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,767,338 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,110,000 after buying an additional 22,900 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Echostar

In related news, Director William Wade sold 2,425 shares of Echostar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.48, for a total transaction of $221,839.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 324 shares in the company, valued at $29,639.52. This trade represents a 88.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Bye sold 8,508 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.83, for a total transaction of $764,273.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,658.99. This trade represents a 92.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $1,224,686 in the last quarter. 55.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ECHO shares. New Street Research set a $165.00 price target on Echostar in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Echostar in a research report on Monday, May 18th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Echostar from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Echostar from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Echostar from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Echostar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.88.

Echostar Price Performance

ECHO stock opened at $93.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 5.12 and a current ratio of 5.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.96. Echostar CORP has a twelve month low of $65.76 and a twelve month high of $147.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.74 and a beta of 1.00.

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter. Echostar had a negative net margin of 38.71% and a negative return on equity of 1.28%. Research analysts expect that Echostar CORP will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Echostar Company Profile

EchoStar Corporation is a global communications and technology company that provides satellite, broadband, and wireless connectivity services. Its operations include satellite communications, broadband internet, enterprise networking, and related technology solutions for consumers, businesses, and government customers.

Through its Hughes business, EchoStar provides satellite-based broadband services under the HughesNet brand, as well as managed network services, equipment, and connectivity solutions for residential and commercial users.

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