Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

IRDM has been the topic of several research reports. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $26.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.54. Iridium Communications has a 52-week low of $24.14 and a 52-week high of $51.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.43 and a beta of 0.64.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.10. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $201.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Iridium Communications will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 266.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc now owns 2,656,227 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $109,330,000 after buying an additional 214,508 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 250.1% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 122,906 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,059,000 after acquiring an additional 87,802 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,266,706 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,298,000 after acquiring an additional 97,167 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Iridium Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $913,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 427.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 72,626 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 58,860 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.