EchoStar Corporation $SATS Shares Purchased by Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd

Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd increased its holdings in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 68.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,181,728 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 887,611 shares during the quarter. EchoStar accounts for about 11.5% of Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $237,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EchoStar during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EchoStar during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, BOKF NA grew its stake in shares of EchoStar by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 400 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SATS. New Street Research began coverage on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Williams Trading set a $155.00 price target on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EchoStar from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research lowered EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.14.

EchoStar Price Performance

SATS stock opened at $116.28 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.09. The company has a market capitalization of $33.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.32 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.27. EchoStar Corporation has a 12 month low of $14.90 and a 12 month high of $147.25.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 9th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. EchoStar had a negative net margin of 97.56% and a negative return on equity of 4.80%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.71) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that EchoStar Corporation will post -3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.