Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Stock Price Up 9.4% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) rose 9.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $28.80 and last traded at $29.3420. Approximately 433,010 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,190,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on IRDM. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings raised Iridium Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, BWS Financial reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.40.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 10.3%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $22.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 2.48.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 24.01% and a net margin of 13.12%.The business had revenue of $212.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.60%.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,157,227 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,533,000 after buying an additional 677,258 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 6,490,108 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $113,317,000 after buying an additional 1,156,580 shares during the last quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Silver Heights Capital Management Inc now owns 5,251,133 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $91,265,000 after acquiring an additional 61,430 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,761,749 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $82,759,000 after acquiring an additional 725,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 0.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,343,670 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $75,840,000 after acquiring an additional 27,907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

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.