Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.25.

IRDM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. William Blair upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BWS Financial cut their price objective on Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 95.1% during the first quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,891,677 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $133,641,000 after buying an additional 2,383,962 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,893,145 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $106,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064,093 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 37.5% during the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 3,889,045 shares of the technology company's stock worth $106,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,465 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,240,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Iridium Communications by 94.2% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,735,842 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $50,374,000 after purchasing an additional 841,951 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IRDM traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.13. 628,258 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,159,675. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.76. Iridium Communications has a 52 week low of $19.91 and a 52 week high of $35.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $214.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.78 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 19.41% and a net margin of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.83%.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

Iridium Communications Inc provides mobile voice and data communications services and products to businesses, the United States and international governments, non-governmental organizations, and consumers worldwide. The company offers postpaid mobile voice and data satellite communications; prepaid mobile voice satellite communications; push-to-talk; broadband data; and Internet of Things (IoT) services.