Analysts Set Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Price Target at $41.20

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.20.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IRDM. New Street Research upgraded Iridium Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. William Blair lowered Iridium Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Iridium Communications from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Iridium Communications from $26.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ IRDM opened at $48.30 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.78. Iridium Communications has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $57.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.87.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $225.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.32 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 10.55%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Iridium Communications will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.18%.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 209,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total value of $10,507,681.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,928,127.32. This trade represents a 78.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzanne Mcbride sold 85,454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.28, for a total transaction of $4,296,627.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,017 shares in the company, valued at $14,179,814.76. This represents a 23.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 381,688 shares of company stock worth $19,146,390 over the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 1,750.0% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. Essential Partners LLC increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 86.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,345 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 2,481 shares during the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc provides global satellite-based voice and data communications services. Its network is designed to support connectivity across land, oceans, airways and polar regions, serving customers in areas where terrestrial communications infrastructure is limited or unavailable.

The company offers satellite phones, broadband and narrowband data services, push-to-talk communications, and Internet of Things connectivity. Its product portfolio includes Iridium Certus broadband services, Iridium GO! satellite Wi-Fi products, satellite phones, specialized IoT services and solutions for asset tracking, monitoring and machine-to-machine communications.