Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $28.43 and traded as high as $29.64. Iridium Communications shares last traded at $29.05, with a volume of 542,759 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BWS Financial reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 2.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 0.65. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $29.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.44.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The business had revenue of $212.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.68 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Iridium Communications declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 19th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total value of $1,127,253.45. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares in the company, valued at $7,489,277.36. This trade represents a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $130,301.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,832 shares of company stock worth $1,259,221 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $697,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 19.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 130,370 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,970,000 after purchasing an additional 21,522 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth $1,899,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 429.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 334,396 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,902,000 after buying an additional 271,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $435,000. 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.