Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Iridium Communications' stock hit a new 52-week low at $19.56 after BWS Financial downgraded it from neutral to sell and revised the price target from $25.00 to $16.00.
• Despite the downgrade, the company's consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $32.83, indicating mixed analyst perspectives on its future performance.
• Iridium Communications recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.14 to $0.15, representing a dividend yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 56.57%.

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after BWS Financial downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a sell rating. BWS Financial now has a $16.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $25.00. Iridium Communications traded as low as $19.56 and last traded at $19.95, with a volume of 2282964 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.39.

Several other research firms also recently commented on IRDM. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Iridium Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications during the first quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Iridium Communications by 129.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,379 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications during the first quarter valued at $47,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Iridium Communications by 37.2% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,757 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Iridium Communications during the second quarter valued at $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $27.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.91.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $216.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.73 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 13.20%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.57%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.