Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.64 EPS

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The technology company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.64, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $245.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.30 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 10.55%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of IRDM stock opened at $43.94 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 49.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.86. Iridium Communications has a 52 week low of $15.65 and a 52 week high of $57.18.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 13,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.51, for a total value of $680,521.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 35,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,804,772.81. This represents a 27.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 85,454 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total value of $4,296,627.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 282,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,179,814.76. This represents a 23.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 381,688 shares of company stock worth $19,146,390 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on IRDM. William Blair downgraded Iridium Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, New Street Research raised Iridium Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.20.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

Iridium Communications Inc provides global satellite communications services through the Iridium satellite network. The company offers voice and data connectivity for customers in remote and difficult-to-reach locations, supporting applications in maritime, aviation, government, emergency services, transportation, industrial, and recreational markets.

Its product portfolio includes satellite phones, broadband services, specialized voice and data terminals, and Internet of Things connectivity for tracking, monitoring, and machine-to-machine communications.