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

Key Points

• Iridium Communications has an average analyst rating of “Hold” from seven brokerage firms, with one sell, four hold, and two buy recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $34.00.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.20 per share, missing expectations of $0.27, while revenue of $219.06 million slightly topped forecasts. Revenue grew 2% year over year, and analysts expect full-year EPS of $1.05.
• Iridium also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, payable June 30, which works out to an annualized yield of about 1.3%. The payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on IRDM. BWS Financial reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Iridium Communications from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. New Street Research began coverage on Iridium Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ IRDM opened at $47.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 47.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.88. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $40.88 and its 200 day moving average is $27.65. Iridium Communications has a fifty-two week low of $15.65 and a fifty-two week high of $53.83.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $219.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Iridium Communications will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is presently 60.61%.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In other news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 3,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $117,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,764 shares in the company, valued at $1,480,684. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,350 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,677 shares of the technology company's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 107.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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