Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.15

Key Points

• Iridium declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share (annual $0.60), implying a ~2.5% yield; shareholders of record on March 16 will be paid on March 31 (ex-dividend March 16).
• The dividend appears sustainable with a current payout ratio of 45.1% and analysts forecasting $1.24 EPS next year, which would imply a projected payout ratio of about 48.4%.
• Iridium recently beat EPS estimates ($0.24 vs. $0.23) while missing revenue slightly, and trades at a PE of about 22.6 with a market cap of $2.52 billion and roughly 84% institutional ownership.

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share by the technology company on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th.

Iridium Communications has a payout ratio of 45.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Iridium Communications to earn $1.24 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.4%.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IRDM traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.98. The company had a trading volume of 514,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,272,696. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.82. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $15.65 and a 1-year high of $33.34. The business's 50 day moving average price is $20.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.60.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 24.01%. The firm had revenue of $212.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Iridium Communications by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 184.7% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 392.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.