Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $44.61 and last traded at $43.4620, with a volume of 1114831 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. BWS Financial reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.80.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.80.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $219.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.39 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 12.05%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In related news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 3,790 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $117,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,480,684. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 1,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 184.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 392.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company’s unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium’s core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.