Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM Stock Purchased by CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

Key Points

• Cushing Asset Management increased its Iridium Communications stake by 76.5% in the third quarter, acquiring 180,500 shares and bringing its total ownership to 416,500 shares valued at approximately $19.95 million.
• Institutional interest remains strong, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 84.36% of Iridium’s shares. The company also reported quarterly earnings of $0.98 per share and revenue of $245.73 million, exceeding analyst estimates.
• Iridium pays a quarterly dividend of $0.15, equivalent to a 1.3% yield, while analyst sentiment remains mixed with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $41.20.

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its position in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 76.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 416,500 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 180,500 shares during the quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT owned about 0.39% of Iridium Communications worth $19,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $737,587,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 50.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,270,799 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $124,553,000 after purchasing an additional 766,171 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,159,061 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,884,000 after buying an additional 65,937 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter valued at $62,751,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 2.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 508,290 shares of the technology company's stock worth $14,100,000 after buying an additional 10,702 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ IRDM opened at $44.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.84. Iridium Communications Inc has a 12 month low of $15.65 and a 12 month high of $57.18. The company's fifty day moving average price is $47.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The technology company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.64. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 22.04% and a net margin of 18.06%. The firm had revenue of $245.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is 39.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Iridium Communications news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 13,473 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.51, for a total value of $680,521.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 35,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,804,772.81. The trade was a 27.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Last sold 5,769 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.35, for a total transaction of $267,393.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,899,425.50. This represents a 6.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 381,688 shares of company stock worth $19,146,390. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IRDM. William Blair lowered Iridium Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Iridium Communications from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. New Street Research raised shares of Iridium Communications from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.20.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc provides global satellite communications services through the Iridium satellite network. The company offers voice and data connectivity for customers in remote and difficult-to-reach locations, supporting applications in maritime, aviation, government, emergency services, transportation, industrial, and recreational markets.

Its product portfolio includes satellite phones, broadband services, specialized voice and data terminals, and Internet of Things connectivity for tracking, monitoring, and machine-to-machine communications.

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