Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $51.64 and last traded at $49.70, with a volume of 433632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on IRDM shares. New Street Research started coverage on Iridium Communications in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. BWS Financial reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Iridium Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.80.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 2.5%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.25 and a 200-day moving average of $25.80. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $219.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.39 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 3,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $117,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,480,684. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 392.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.