Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Short Interest Up 5.6% in March

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,590,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the March 15th total of 3,400,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:IRDM traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $24.78. 1,069,014 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,086,533. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $28.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.18. Iridium Communications has a 12 month low of $24.14 and a 12 month high of $68.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 190.62 and a beta of 0.85.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The technology company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.27. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $194.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $192.13 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Iridium Communications will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 400.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet raised Iridium Communications from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. BWS Financial downgraded Iridium Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Raymond James reduced their price target on Iridium Communications from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, William Blair lowered Iridium Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.80.

About Iridium Communications

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.