Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Key Points

• Iridium Communications reported earnings of $0.20 per share, missing analysts' estimates of $0.23 by $0.03, but achieved a revenue of $216.91 million, surpassing predictions of $214.73 million.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.14 to $0.15 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.34% and a payout ratio of 52.83%.
• Shares of IRDM have seen a price increase during trading, reaching $25.69, while analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $35.20.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $216.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.73 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of IRDM traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.91. 1,471,060 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,932,609. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.89. Iridium Communications has a 52 week low of $19.91 and a 52 week high of $35.85. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.79.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IRDM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $39.00 price target (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, July 25th. William Blair upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BWS Financial dropped their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 16.2% during the first 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 buying an additional 75,060 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 64.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 239,354 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,539,000 after purchasing an additional 94,173 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 232,231 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,345,000 after buying an additional 33,191 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,325 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 11,985 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Iridium Communications by 1,243.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 40,479 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 37,465 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.