Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.01, RTT News reports. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 2.70%. The company had revenue of $203.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 5.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $27.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.48 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.66 and a 200-day moving average of $34.93. 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 has a one year low of $24.14 and a one year high of $68.34.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 247.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 78.7% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 990 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IRDM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BWS Financial downgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. William Blair downgraded shares of Iridium Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Raymond James dropped 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. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.80.

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.