Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) Shares Down 4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) fell 4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $30.19 and last traded at $30.36. 532,520 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 1,066,419 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on IRDM. BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.62 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.10. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 11.08%. The company had revenue of $201.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.01 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Iridium Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 266.67%.

Iridium Communications declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 6,491.3% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,598,532 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574,280 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 18.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,475,472 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,897,000 after purchasing an additional 385,872 shares in the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its stake in Iridium Communications by 19.9% in the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,089,600 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 346,118 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,090,326 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $316,283,000 after purchasing an additional 336,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 429.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 334,396 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,902,000 after buying an additional 271,203 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is 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.