Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.75.

IRDM has been the subject of several recent research reports. BWS Financial reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Iridium Communications stock traded up $1.53 on Friday, reaching $30.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 765,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,538. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.62. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.93 and a beta of 0.65. Iridium Communications has a twelve month low of $24.14 and a twelve month high of $37.13. The business's fifty day moving average price is $29.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.57.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is 59.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,388,855.56. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,977 shares of company stock valued at $488,593 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth $186,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.