Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Stock Price Down 6.7% – Here’s What Happened

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)’s share price traded down 6.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $18.62 and last traded at $18.6810. 275,435 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,136,462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CCOI. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $40.00 target price on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.67.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.78 and a 200-day moving average of $27.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $903.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.74 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $240.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.82 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 18.67% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.91) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $75,867.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,199. This represents a 24.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total value of $56,040.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $957,350. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCOI. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cogent Communications in the first quarter valued at $202,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 26.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 476,513 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,215,000 after acquiring an additional 100,969 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Cogent Communications by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 161,791 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,919,000 after purchasing an additional 30,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $104,000. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.