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 stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their community ranking, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, media sentiment, valuation and earnings.

Which has more volatility and risk, IRDM or CCOI?

Iridium Communications has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cogent Communications has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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

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

Does the media refer more to IRDM or CCOI?

In the previous week, Iridium Communications had 6 more articles in the media than Cogent Communications. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Iridium Communications and 6 mentions for Cogent Communications. Iridium Communications' average media sentiment score of 0.96 beat Cogent Communications' score of 0.70 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	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cogent Communications	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate IRDM or CCOI?

Iridium Communications currently has a consensus target price of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 39.60%. Cogent Communications has a consensus target price of $80.25, indicating a potential upside of 8.18%. Given Iridium Communications' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Iridium Communications is more favorable than Cogent Communications.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Iridium Communications	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Cogent Communications	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63

Is IRDM or CCOI more profitable?

Iridium Communications has a net margin of 14.09% compared to Cogent Communications' net margin of 3.73%. Iridium Communications' return on equity of 14.34% beat Cogent Communications' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Iridium Communications	14.09%	14.34%	4.21%
Cogent Communications	3.73%	-36.31%	-5.20%

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 1.9%. Cogent Communications pays an annual dividend of $3.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Iridium Communications pays out 59.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cogent Communications pays out 510.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cogent Communications has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Cogent Communications is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, IRDM or CCOI?

Cogent Communications has higher revenue and earnings than Iridium Communications. Iridium Communications is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cogent 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	$812.43M	4.12	$15.41M	$0.94	31.24
Cogent Communications	$1.06B	3.44	$1.27B	$0.78	95.10

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in IRDM or CCOI?

Cogent Communications received 16 more outperform votes than Iridium Communications when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.50% of users gave Cogent Communications an outperform vote while only 58.67% of users gave Iridium Communications an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Iridium Communications	Outperform Votes 484 58.67%	Underperform Votes 341 41.33%
Cogent Communications	Outperform Votes 500 61.50%	Underperform Votes 313 38.50%

Summary

Iridium Communications beats Cogent Communications on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.