Viasat releases quarterly earnings results, beats estimates By $0.12 EPS

Viasat (NASDAQ:VSAT – Get Rating) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The communications equipment provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.12, MarketWatch Earnings reports. The business had revenue of $701.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $724.40 million. Viasat had a return on equity of 0.81% and a net margin of 0.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS.

VSAT stock traded up $0.29 on Wednesday, reaching $41.11. 300,282 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,998. Viasat has a 12 month low of $35.05 and a 12 month high of $68.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 141.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viasat in the 1st quarter worth approximately $85,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Viasat in the 1st quarter valued at $168,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viasat during the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Viasat during the first quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Viasat during the first quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VSAT shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Viasat in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Viasat from $70.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Viasat from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.75. Defence World