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

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.75.

A number of research firms have commented on IRDM. BWS Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed 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

IRDM opened at $29.41 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 0.65. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $24.14 and a 1-year high of $38.08.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.58%.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In other news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total transaction of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 241,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,876,585.90. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,977 shares of company stock valued at $488,593. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter worth $186,000. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.