Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Gap Up to $25.92

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.92, but opened at $28.00. Iridium Communications shares last traded at $27.96, with a volume of 419,183 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BWS Financial restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Iridium Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.75.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.64.

Iridium Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Iridium Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 266.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,079,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Iridium Communications by 2,918.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 603,900 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,857,000 after buying an additional 583,896 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Iridium Communications by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,743,482 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $71,762,000 after buying an additional 539,909 shares during the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its position in Iridium Communications by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,743,482 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $71,762,000 after buying an additional 539,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Iridium Communications by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,090,326 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $316,283,000 after buying an additional 336,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.