Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Reaches New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Iridium Communications hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $51.64 after recently closing at $48.84, signaling strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: while several firms raised price targets, the stock’s consensus rating is still Hold with an average price target of $28.80, well below the current share price.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates but slightly beating revenue expectations, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $51.64 and last traded at $49.70, with a volume of 433632 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on IRDM. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, April 24th. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Thursday, May 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.80.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 1.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.25, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.79. 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 price is $36.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.33.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The firm had revenue of $219.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.61%.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In related news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 3,790 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $117,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,480,684. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IRDM. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc now owns 5,189,703 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $90,612,000 after purchasing an additional 961,440 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 323.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 310,797 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,427,000 after purchasing an additional 237,456 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 86.4% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 776,576 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,558,000 after purchasing an additional 360,015 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,157,227 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $176,533,000 after acquiring an additional 677,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 612,610 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,696,000 after acquiring an additional 50,239 shares during the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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