Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on IRDM. Barclays reduced their price objective on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of IRDM opened at $27.59 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Iridium Communications has a one year low of $24.14 and a one year high of $35.85. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.34.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.16. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. The firm had revenue of $212.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.78 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total value of $356,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 241,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,876,585.90. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,240,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 94.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,735,842 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,374,000 after purchasing an additional 841,951 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,213,512 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,125,000 after buying an additional 683,777 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $17,613,000. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 2,088,053 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $60,595,000 after buying an additional 567,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

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.