Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $44.98 and last traded at $45.3070, with a volume of 1332852 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on IRDM shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Iridium Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. BWS Financial reissued a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.80.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 4.4%

The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 45.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.85.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.07). Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 22.76% and a net margin of 12.05%.The business had revenue of $219.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.39 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. Iridium Communications’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.61%.

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 2,043 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total value of $67,419.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 45,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,793. This represents a 4.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IRDM. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 351,234 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,743,000 after purchasing an additional 134,863 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,083,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 9.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 306,684 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,508,000 after purchasing an additional 27,325 shares in the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new position in Iridium Communications during the first quarter worth $236,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the first quarter worth $1,151,000. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.