Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.7143.

A number of research firms have commented on CCOI. Zacks Research raised shares of Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Friday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Tuesday, November 25th.

Insider Activity at Cogent Communications

In other news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total value of $88,776.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 36,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,339,038. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.34, for a total value of $51,216.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,656.08. This trade represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,800 shares of company stock valued at $221,352 in the last 90 days. 10.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 1.4% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,815 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 3.6% in the third quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 7,122 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 44,259 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 6,835 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cogent Communications Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CCOI opened at $19.99 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.19. The company has a market cap of $981.91 million, a PE ratio of -4.90 and a beta of 0.83. Cogent Communications has a fifty-two week low of $15.96 and a fifty-two week high of $84.06.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported ($0.87) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.28. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 19.72% and a negative return on equity of 208.70%. The firm had revenue of $241.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.33) EPS. Cogent Communications’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.96%.

Cogent Communications declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides high-speed Internet access, private network, and data center colocation space services in North America, Europe, Oceania, South America, and Africa. The company offers on-net Internet access and private network services to law firms, financial services firms, and advertising and marketing firms, as well as heath care providers, educational institutions and other professional services businesses, other Internet service providers, telephone companies, cable television companies, web hosting companies, media service providers, mobile phone operators, content delivery network companies, and commercial content and application service providers.