Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Stock Price Up 3.3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) rose 3.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $29.93 and last traded at $29.94. Approximately 117,460 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,072,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IRDM. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 2.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.42.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.16. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The firm had revenue of $212.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.78 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 58.95%.

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total transaction of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,876,585.90. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IRDM. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 248,602 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,264,000 after buying an additional 57,690 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 376.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,858 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 3,838 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 185.7% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 43,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 28,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,093,223 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,725,000 after purchasing an additional 37,371 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by 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.