Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Short Interest Update

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,640,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the November 30th total of 7,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.9 days. Approximately 8.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 182,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares in the company, valued at $7,489,277.36. This represents a 13.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 7,684.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 83.7% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $29.02 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $29.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.87 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Iridium Communications has a 52 week low of $24.14 and a 52 week high of $41.40.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.68 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 14.09%. Analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

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.