StockNews.com Upgrades Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

CCOI has been the topic of several other reports. TheStreet raised Cogent Communications from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Cogent Communications from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Bank of America downgraded Cogent Communications from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, March 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Cogent Communications from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Cogent Communications from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $77.57.

Cogent Communications Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of CCOI stock opened at $61.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.39. Cogent Communications has a twelve month low of $57.35 and a twelve month high of $86.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.95) by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $272.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.82 million. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 23.66% and a net margin of 135.34%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cogent Communications will post -3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.965 per share. This is an increase from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. This represents a $3.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 14.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 26,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.21, for a total transaction of $1,680,632.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,653,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,782,164.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.47, for a total transaction of $176,328.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 41,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,012,270. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 26,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.21, for a total value of $1,680,632.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,653,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,782,164.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,320 shares of company stock valued at $4,669,997. 11.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Insight Partners LLC increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 62,138 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $336,000. Prairieview Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Prairieview Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,822 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $405,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 218,174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,594,000 after purchasing an additional 24,185 shares in the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.