StockNews.com Upgrades Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ IRDM traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $30.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,093,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,189,589. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $24.14 and a 1-year high of $35.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.53 and a 200 day moving average of $29.18. 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 (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.78 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.95%.

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In other news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total transaction of $356,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares in the company, valued at $6,876,585.90. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $28,240,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 94.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,735,842 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,374,000 after purchasing an additional 841,951 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in Iridium Communications by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,213,512 shares of the technology company's stock worth $64,125,000 after buying an additional 683,777 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,613,000. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 2,088,053 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,595,000 after buying an additional 567,164 shares during the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.