Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Trading Up 6.2% – Time to Buy?

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) shot up 6.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.95 and last traded at $23.8790. 978,847 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 2,251,372 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on IRDM shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BWS Financial reissued a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.40.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 24.01%. The firm had revenue of $212.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $219.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.60%.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,325 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after buying an additional 11,985 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Iridium Communications by 1,243.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 40,479 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 37,465 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 16.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 232,231 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,345,000 after purchasing an additional 33,191 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the first quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 16.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 539,566 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,741,000 after purchasing an additional 75,060 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Iridium Communications

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.