William Blair Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for IRDM

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) – Research analysts at William Blair reduced their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Iridium Communications in a report issued on Thursday, October 17th. William Blair analyst L. Dipalma now forecasts that the technology company will post earnings of $0.13 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.16. The consensus estimate for Iridium Communications’ current full-year earnings is $0.81 per share.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $201.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Iridium Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 5.9 %

IRDM opened at $31.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 150.48 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.98. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $24.14 and a 1-year high of $42.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Iridium Communications declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 266.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $280,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $546,000. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 30,459 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Iridium Communications by 19.9% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,089,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 346,118 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 427.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 72,626 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 58,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

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.