Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) to Issue $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share by the technology company on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th.

Iridium Communications has a payout ratio of 45.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Iridium Communications to earn $1.24 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.4%.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $23.98. 514,296 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,272,696. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.65 and a 200-day moving average of $19.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.80. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.60. Iridium Communications has a 1-year low of $15.65 and a 1-year high of $33.34.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 24.01%. The firm had revenue of $212.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Iridium Communications will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iridium Communications

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 994,205 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $17,279,000 after acquiring an additional 106,856 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $193,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 48,695 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 15,752 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,350 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VARCOV Co. bought a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $947,000. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company’s unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium’s core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.