Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

IRDM has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays lowered their price target 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 issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IRDM opened at $27.32 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.48. Iridium Communications has a 52 week low of $24.14 and a 52 week high of $35.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.16. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The company had revenue of $212.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.78 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 58.95%.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total value of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,876,585.90. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 248,602 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,264,000 after acquiring an additional 57,690 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 376.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,858 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,838 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 185.7% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 43,265 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 28,119 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,093,223 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,725,000 after buying an additional 37,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.