Scientech Research LLC Raises Stock Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Scientech Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 174.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,378 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,130 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth about $519,000. Anchor Capital Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 11.4% during the second quarter. Anchor Capital Management Company LLC now owns 695,170 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $18,505,000 after buying an additional 71,229 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 6.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 11,480 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth about $279,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of IRDM opened at $31.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.55. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.76 and a beta of 0.64. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.14 and a 52-week high of $46.25.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $201.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.01 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 11.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.24) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 19th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 266.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IRDM. BWS Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Iridium Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

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.