WINTON GROUP Ltd Takes Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Key Points

• Winton Group established a new position in EchoStar in Q3, buying 13,463 shares valued at about $1.03 million.
• Company insiders executed large sales recently: COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares (~$5.69M) and CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares (~$7.63M), though insiders still own about 55.9% of the stock.
• Analysts are mixed with a consensus rating of Hold and a $134.17 average price target (3 Buy, 3 Hold, 1 Sell), while the stock recently traded near $106.83.

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,463 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,028,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new position in EchoStar in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of EchoStar by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 838 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of EchoStar by 593.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of EchoStar by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of EchoStar by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,665 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.62% of the company's stock.

EchoStar Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ SATS traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $106.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 445,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,480,475. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $115.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. EchoStar Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $132.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SATS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Williams Trading set a $158.00 price objective on shares of EchoStar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research downgraded EchoStar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on EchoStar from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $134.17.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In related news, COO John Swieringa sold 50,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $5,688,995.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 253,535 shares in the company, valued at $28,796,505.30. This represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 71,005 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $7,634,457.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 823,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,520,463.36. The trade was a 7.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 55.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

EchoStar Company Profile

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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