Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Iridium Communications has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", based on six firms covering the stock. The average 12-month price target is $28.80.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $0.20 missed estimates of $0.27, while revenue of $219.06 million slightly topped expectations and rose 2% year over year.
• Shares traded up 0.8% to $43.43, near the stock’s 1-year high of $44.61. Iridium also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, implying a 1.4% annual yield.

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.80.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BWS Financial reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Iridium Communications stock opened at $43.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 43.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.79. Iridium Communications has a 1 year low of $15.65 and a 1 year high of $44.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.97.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.07). Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 12.05%.The company had revenue of $219.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $218.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Iridium Communications's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Iridium Communications news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 2,043 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,325 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 11,985 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 1,243.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 40,479 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 37,465 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 16.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 232,231 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,345,000 after purchasing an additional 33,191 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 539,566 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,741,000 after purchasing an additional 75,060 shares during the period. 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.

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