Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.6667.

Several research firms recently issued reports on IRDM. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. New Street Research started coverage on Iridium Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Iridium Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BWS Financial restated a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

IRDM stock opened at $53.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 54.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.87. Iridium Communications has a 52 week low of $15.65 and a 52 week high of $57.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.54 and a 200 day moving average of $31.59.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $219.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.39 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Iridium Communications will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 2,043 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total value of $67,419.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 45,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,793. This represents a 4.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 3.1% in the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,199 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,350 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,677 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 5.3% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,971 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

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.