Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) to Repurchase $500.00 million in Stock

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 19th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 4.4 %

NASDAQ IRDM traded up $1.23 on Friday, reaching $29.11. The company had a trading volume of 875,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,058,613. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.01 and its 200-day moving average is $27.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 138.10 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Iridium Communications has a 52 week low of $24.14 and a 52 week high of $48.71.

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

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 266.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on IRDM shares. Barclays upped their price target on Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

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.