Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Down 6.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Iridium Communications shares fell 6.2% during trading, with the stock closing at $23.57 after dropping from a previous close of $25.12.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on the stock, with Barclays lowering its price target to $31 while Morgan Stanley and Raymond James revised their targets to $37 and $39, respectively.
• Iridium Communications announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.14 to $0.15, representing a yield of 2.8% with a payout ratio of 56.57%.

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 6.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $23.80 and last traded at $23.57. Approximately 1,649,942 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the average daily volume of 1,412,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on IRDM. Barclays dropped their price objective on Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $47.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $34.33.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.98.

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

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Iridium Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 95.1% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,064,093 shares during the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 3,889,045 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $106,210,000 after buying an additional 1,061,465 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $19,978,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 82.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,447,889 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,556,000 after buying an additional 653,201 shares during 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.

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