Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.75.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on IRDM shares. BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

Shares of IRDM stock opened at $29.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.62. Iridium Communications has a one year low of $24.14 and a one year high of $38.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $29.26 and its 200 day moving average is $28.57.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 59.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,388,855.56. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total value of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,876,585.90. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,977 shares of company stock worth $488,593. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.2% in 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. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter worth $186,000. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

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.