Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.00.

IRDM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 target price (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BWS Financial reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, October 24th.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 0.8%

Iridium Communications stock opened at $19.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.93. Iridium Communications has a 52 week low of $15.65 and a 52 week high of $34.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.02.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 53.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RD Finance Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $889,000. Maxi Investments CY Ltd acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,369,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Iridium Communications by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 396,642 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,044,000 after purchasing an additional 224,322 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in Iridium Communications by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 35,336 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 12,119 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 131.7% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 26,221 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 14,905 shares during the last quarter. 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.