Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Stock Price Up 6.4% – What’s Next?

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) shares were up 6.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $18.34 and last traded at $18.8920. Approximately 620,458 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 1,842,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered Iridium Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $39.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Iridium Communications from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, BWS Financial reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.67.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.87.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $226.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $222.13 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.44%.The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Iridium Communications news, CEO Matthew J. Desch acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.33 per share, for a total transaction of $346,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,127,019 shares in the company, valued at $19,531,239.27. This represents a 1.81% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 20,839 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $375,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 231,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,158,612. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,967 shares of company stock valued at $557,406 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 392.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc provides mobile voice and data communications services and products to businesses, the United States and international governments, non-governmental organizations, and consumers worldwide. The company offers postpaid mobile voice and data satellite communications; prepaid mobile voice satellite communications; push-to-talk; broadband data; and Internet of Things (IoT) services.