Iridium Communications’ (IRDM) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley restated their equal weight rating on shares of Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $24.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $37.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on IRDM. BWS Financial reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Iridium Communications from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Iridium Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IRDM opened at $19.04 on Friday. Iridium Communications has a 12 month low of $15.65 and a 12 month high of $34.45. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.02.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $226.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $222.13 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Iridium Communications 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 issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is presently 53.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 20,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $375,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 231,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,158,612. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus acquired 30,000 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.49 per share, for a total transaction of $524,700.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 297,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,200,878.87. This represents a 11.22% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 30,967 shares of company stock worth $557,406 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.1% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,199 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Iridium Communications by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 66,921 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,053 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 15,460 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

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.