Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $28.43 and traded as high as $29.64. Iridium Communications shares last traded at $29.05, with a volume of 542,759 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BWS Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $29.54 and its 200-day moving average is $28.43. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.68 million. Equities research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 59.57%.

Iridium Communications declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Iridium Communications news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total value of $1,127,253.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 254,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. This trade represents a 13.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,832 shares of company stock worth $1,259,221 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 2.8% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,750 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 4.2% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,389 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 6.2% in the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 11,480 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 25.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

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.