Brown Advisory Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

Brown Advisory Inc. trimmed its stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) by 13.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,454,101 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 217,369 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Cogent Communications were worth $70,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CCOI. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 297.8% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the second quarter worth $40,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the second quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 4.6%

CCOI stock opened at $19.62 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $963.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.81 and a beta of 0.83. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.96 and a fifty-two week high of $84.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported ($0.87) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $241.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $246.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.33) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued 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 is -1.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 4,000 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total transaction of $81,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $391,890.78. The trade was a 17.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.34, for a total value of $51,216.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,656.08. This represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCOI has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $37.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.71.

About Cogent Communications

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.