Brokerages Set Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Target Price at $24.90

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.90.

CCOI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Cogent Communications from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total transaction of $40,824.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 38,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $656,586. This represents a 5.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.79, for a total value of $81,431.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 197,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,322,741. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 795.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 68,025 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after buying an additional 60,428 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,580,271 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $120,311,000 after buying an additional 217,450 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Cogent Communications by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 74,634 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,609,000 after acquiring an additional 50,276 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 200,082 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,314,000 after acquiring an additional 62,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Cogent Communications by 369.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 539,770 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,700,000 after acquiring an additional 424,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

CCOI opened at $12.40 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.49. Cogent Communications has a 1 year low of $10.93 and a 1 year high of $50.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $620.99 million, a PE ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 0.80.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $239.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.31 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 17.53% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. Cogent Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.09) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cogent Communications will post -4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently -2.25%.

About Cogent Communications

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) is a multinational Internet service provider specializing in high-speed Internet access and data transport services. The company operates one of the largest Tier 1 IP networks in the world, offering wholesale and enterprise customers reliable, low-latency connectivity. Cogent’s core services include dedicated Internet access, Ethernet transport, wavelength services, and MPLS-based IP Virtual Private Networks, all delivered over its privately owned, fiber-optic backbone.

In addition to network connectivity, Cogent provides data center colocation and managed services designed to support businesses with demanding bandwidth and redundancy requirements.