Great Lakes Advisors LLC Lowers Position in EchoStar Corporation $SATS

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) by 78.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,382 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 329,324 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $6,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of EchoStar by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,805 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of EchoStar by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,482 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 3,199 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in EchoStar by 8.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 331,476 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,479,000 after purchasing an additional 24,749 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in EchoStar during the first quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in EchoStar by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,055 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. 33.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at EchoStar

In other news, COO John Swieringa sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.34, for a total transaction of $1,481,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 283,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,091,496.06. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Hamid Akhavan sold 285,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.33, for a total transaction of $30,106,684.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 376,805 shares in the company, valued at $39,688,870.65. This represents a 43.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SATS shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research cut EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on EchoStar from $97.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on EchoStar from $87.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of EchoStar in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.17.

EchoStar Stock Down 11.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:SATS opened at $113.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $104.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. EchoStar Corporation has a 12-month low of $14.90 and a 12-month high of $132.25.

EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($44.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($43.14). EchoStar had a negative net margin of 85.36% and a positive return on equity of 0.39%. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.52) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that EchoStar Corporation will post -1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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.