Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $40.40, but opened at $38.11. Iridium Communications shares last traded at $41.1410, with a volume of 1,413,806 shares trading hands.

The technology company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.07). Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 24.01%. The business had revenue of $219.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Iridium Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.60.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In other news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 3,790 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $117,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,480,684. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 184.7% in the third 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 last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 392.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 2.0%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.58 and its 200-day moving average is $21.86. The firm has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 2.48.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

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.