StockNews.com Downgrades Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) to Hold

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

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of Iridium Communications stock opened at $27.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $24.14 and a 1-year high of $35.85.

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

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Iridium Communications news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total transaction of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 241,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 248,602 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,264,000 after buying an additional 57,690 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 376.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,858 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 3,838 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 185.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,093,223 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,725,000 after purchasing an additional 37,371 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.