Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $24.71, but opened at $25.48. Iridium Communications shares last traded at $27.21, with a volume of 196,193 shares trading hands.

The technology company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 1.95%. The business had revenue of $203.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 400.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. BWS Financial downgraded shares of Iridium Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 16th. William Blair lowered shares of Iridium Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Iridium Communications from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 0.5% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,739,982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $634,635,000 after buying an additional 71,031 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 0.4% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 14,583,317 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $663,395,000 after acquiring an additional 58,818 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Iridium Communications by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,774,070 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $566,786,000 after purchasing an additional 213,935 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 0.4% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,722,754 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $311,381,000 after purchasing an additional 26,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,120,966 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $227,217,000 after buying an additional 110,188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 209.31 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.98 and a 200-day moving average of $35.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.06.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

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.