Iridium Communications (IRDM) Competitors

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) and Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, media sentiment, valuation, risk and community ranking.

Is CCOI or IRDM a better dividend stock?

Cogent Communications pays an annual dividend of $4.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Iridium Communications pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Cogent Communications pays out -93.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Iridium Communications pays out 58.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Cogent Communications has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Cogent Communications is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, CCOI or IRDM?

Cogent Communications has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Iridium Communications has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in CCOI or IRDM?

92.4% of Cogent Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.4% of Iridium Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.4% of Cogent Communications shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Iridium Communications shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer CCOI or IRDM?

Cogent Communications presently has a consensus price target of $80.25, suggesting a potential upside of 17.75%. Iridium Communications has a consensus price target of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 27.70%. Given Iridium Communications' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Iridium Communications is more favorable than Cogent Communications.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cogent Communications	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Iridium Communications	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Is CCOI or IRDM more profitable?

Iridium Communications has a net margin of 13.58% compared to Cogent Communications' net margin of 3.73%. Iridium Communications' return on equity of 15.66% beat Cogent Communications' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cogent Communications	3.73%	-36.31%	-5.20%
Iridium Communications	13.58%	15.66%	4.15%

Does the media favor CCOI or IRDM?

In the previous week, Iridium Communications had 7 more articles in the media than Cogent Communications. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Iridium Communications and 7 mentions for Cogent Communications. Cogent Communications' average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat Iridium Communications' score of 0.93 indicating that Cogent Communications is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cogent Communications	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Iridium Communications	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher earnings & valuation, CCOI or IRDM?

Cogent Communications has higher revenue and earnings than Iridium Communications. Cogent Communications is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Iridium Communications, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cogent Communications	$1.04B	3.23	$1.27B	-$4.30	-15.85
Iridium Communications	$830.68M	3.69	$112.78M	$0.95	29.67

Does the MarketBeat Community favor CCOI or IRDM?

Cogent Communications received 12 more outperform votes than Iridium Communications when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.43% of users gave Cogent Communications an outperform vote while only 58.80% of users gave Iridium Communications an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Cogent Communications	Outperform Votes 500 61.43%	Underperform Votes 314 38.57%
Iridium Communications	Outperform Votes 488 58.80%	Underperform Votes 342 41.20%

Summary

Cogent Communications beats Iridium Communications on 13 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.