Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Trading Up 3.3% – Still a Buy?

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)’s stock price traded up 3.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $29.93 and last traded at $29.94. 117,460 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,072,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald started 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.43. 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 (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $203.78 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.95%.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In related 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 transaction of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC raised its position in Iridium Communications by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 1,528 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Iridium Communications by 529.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.