Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $24.71, but opened at $25.48. Iridium Communications shares last traded at $27.21, with a volume of 196,193 shares changing hands.

The technology company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $203.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.84 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 1.95%. Iridium Communications’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.08 EPS.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 400.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on IRDM shares. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. TheStreet upgraded Iridium Communications from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. BWS Financial downgraded Iridium Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, William Blair downgraded Iridium Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IRDM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter worth $55,079,000. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. increased its position in Iridium Communications by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 2,059,088 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,668,000 after purchasing an additional 751,595 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 2,918.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 603,900 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $24,857,000 after buying an additional 583,896 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,733,034 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $190,836,000 after buying an additional 564,367 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,743,482 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $71,762,000 after buying an additional 539,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 209.31 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

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.