Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Initiates Stock Buyback Plan

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 19th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $29.22 on Friday. Iridium Communications has a 52 week low of $24.14 and a 52 week high of $48.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 139.00 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.51.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.10. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The firm had revenue of $201.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Iridium Communications will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 266.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IRDM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BWS Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

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.