Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Lowered to “Outperform” Rating by Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $26.00 target price on the technology company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $39.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BWS Financial lowered Iridium Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price target on Iridium Communications from $38.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Iridium Communications from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.67.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of IRDM opened at $18.39 on Thursday. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $35.85. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.70.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.03). Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $216.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. Iridium Communications’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Iridium Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the first quarter worth about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Iridium Communications by 129.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,379 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the period. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the first quarter worth about $47,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Iridium Communications by 37.2% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,757 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth about $70,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Iridium Communications

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.