Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts remain cautious on Iridium Communications, with eight firms covering the stock giving it an average rating of “Hold.” The consensus 1-year price target is about $38.67.
• Recent earnings were mixed: Iridium reported $0.20 EPS, missing estimates of $0.27, while revenue of $219.06 million slightly beat expectations. The company also guided analysts to expect 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The stock has run up sharply, opening at $53.75 and trading near its 52-week high of $57.18, well above its 200-day average of $31.59. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15, equal to a 1.1% annualized yield.

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.6667.

A number of research firms have weighed in on IRDM. BWS Financial restated a "sell" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, April 27th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Iridium Communications from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 2,043 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total transaction of $67,419.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 45,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,508,793. This represents a 4.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,199 shares of the technology company's stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 11.2% in the fourth 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 raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 107.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

NASDAQ IRDM opened at $53.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $45.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.59. Iridium Communications has a one year low of $15.65 and a one year high of $57.18.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $219.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.39 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 22.76%. Iridium Communications's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Iridium Communications will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

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.

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