Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.6667.

IRDM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BWS Financial reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Iridium Communications from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Iridium Communications from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 4.3%

IRDM stock opened at $19.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.02, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.93. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $15.65 and a 1-year high of $34.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.38. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.55.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $226.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $222.13 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.10%.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, Director Robert H. Niehaus acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.49 per share, with a total value of $524,700.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 297,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,200,878.87. This represents a 11.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew J. Desch bought 20,000 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.33 per share, for a total transaction of $346,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,127,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,531,239.27. The trade was a 1.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,967 shares of company stock valued at $557,406. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Diversified Trust Co. purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $439,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 612,610 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,696,000 after purchasing an additional 50,239 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company’s unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium’s core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.