Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $24.71, but opened at $25.48. Iridium Communications shares last traded at $27.21, with a volume of 196,193 shares.

The technology company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $203.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.84 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 1.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.08 EPS.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 400.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IRDM shares. William Blair cut Iridium Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. BWS Financial cut Iridium Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Iridium Communications from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Iridium Communications from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 78.7% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 990 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 5.1 %

The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 210.77 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

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.