Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 16th

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share by the technology company on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th.

Iridium Communications has a payout ratio of 54.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Iridium Communications to earn $0.90 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 62.2%.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of IRDM traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.21. 883,622 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,079,256. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $24.14 and a 1-year high of $41.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14 and a beta of 0.65.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.68 million. Research analysts expect that Iridium Communications will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 254,824 shares in the company, valued at $7,489,277.36. The trade was a 13.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Iridium Communications announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 19th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

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.