Brokerages Set Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Price Target at $25.71

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.7143.

Several analysts have weighed in on CCOI shares. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $23.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Cogent Communications from $37.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Friday, November 7th.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

CCOI opened at $24.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -5.95 and a beta of 0.81. Cogent Communications has a 52-week low of $15.96 and a 52-week high of $84.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.40.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported ($0.87) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.28. The business had revenue of $241.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $246.13 million. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 208.70% and a negative net margin of 19.72%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.33) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.34, for a total transaction of $51,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,656.08. This represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 4,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director owned 19,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,890.78. This trade represents a 17.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCOI. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 64.9% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,603,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,561,000 after buying an additional 1,811,222 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $52,704,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 551.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,146,417 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,965,000 after acquiring an additional 970,367 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 84.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,003,273 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,368,000 after acquiring an additional 458,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of 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. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

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.