Iridium Communications (IRDM) Competitors

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

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, IRDM or CCOI?

Iridium Communications has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Cogent 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
Iridium Communications	$841.71M	4.04	$112.78M	$1.06	29.66
Cogent Communications	$1.04B	2.39	-$204.07M	-$4.01	-12.53

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

84.4% of Iridium Communications shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.5% of Cogent Communications shares are held by institutional investors. 2.4% of Iridium Communications shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of Cogent Communications shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is IRDM or CCOI a better dividend stock?

Iridium Communications pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Cogent Communications pays an annual dividend of $4.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.0%. Iridium Communications pays out 52.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cogent Communications pays out -100.7% 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. Iridium Communications has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Cogent Communications has increased 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.

Do analysts recommend IRDM or CCOI?

Iridium Communications presently has a consensus target price of $34.25, indicating a potential upside of 8.94%. Cogent Communications has a consensus target price of $75.75, indicating a potential upside of 50.75%. Given Cogent Communications' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cogent Communications is more favorable than Iridium Communications.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Iridium Communications	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Cogent Communications	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the media prefer IRDM or CCOI?

In the previous week, Cogent Communications had 2 more articles in the media than Iridium Communications. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Cogent Communications and 5 mentions for Iridium Communications. Iridium Communications' average media sentiment score of 1.47 beat Cogent Communications' score of 1.31 indicating that Iridium Communications is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Iridium Communications	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cogent Communications	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is IRDM or CCOI more profitable?

Iridium Communications has a net margin of 14.68% compared to Cogent Communications' net margin of -18.76%. Iridium Communications' return on equity of 19.41% beat Cogent Communications' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Iridium Communications	14.68%	19.41%	4.60%
Cogent Communications	-18.76%	-70.29%	-6.05%

Which has more risk & volatility, IRDM or CCOI?

Iridium Communications has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cogent Communications has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Iridium Communications beats Cogent Communications on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.