Natixis Advisors L.P. Boosts Stake in Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI)

Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,319 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,471 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Rogers Communications were worth $5,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Rogers Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,736,531 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $549,739,000 after buying an additional 396,045 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Rogers Communications by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,396,833 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $646,770,000 after buying an additional 238,829 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Rogers Communications by 7.2% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,822,801 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $408,893,000 after buying an additional 589,494 shares in the last quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. grew its position in Rogers Communications by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 4,028,186 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $188,395,000 after buying an additional 426,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Rogers Communications by 16.1% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,281,771 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $186,241,000 after buying an additional 455,522 shares in the last quarter. 44.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on RCI shares. StockNews.com lowered Rogers Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 25th. Barclays started coverage on Rogers Communications in a research note on Monday, May 8th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, TheStreet lowered Rogers Communications from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.63.

Rogers Communications Stock Performance

NYSE RCI opened at $40.94 on Thursday. Rogers Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.23 and a 1-year high of $50.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.18 and a 200-day moving average of $45.62. The firm has a market cap of $20.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.51.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.08). Rogers Communications had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rogers Communications Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Rogers Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a $0.377 dividend. This represents a $1.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 7th. This is a positive change from Rogers Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Rogers Communications’s payout ratio is 67.74%.

Rogers Communications Profile

Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in North America. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands.