Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI) Shares Down 5% After Analyst Downgrade

Rogers Communication, Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) shares were down 5% during trading on Thursday after TD Securities downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $35.83 and last traded at $36.2370. Approximately 494,972 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 1,094,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.14.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Rogers Communication from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a report on Monday, January 12th. Desjardins lowered shares of Rogers Communication from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rogers Communication

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCI. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rogers Communication by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 100,941 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $2,994,000 after buying an additional 18,936 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Rogers Communication by 69.1% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,155 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 2,924 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Rogers Communication by 4.7% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 20,668 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Rogers Communication during the second quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Rogers Communication by 52.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 934,712 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $27,724,000 after acquiring an additional 321,124 shares in the last quarter. 45.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rogers Communication Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.56. The company has a market capitalization of $18.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.72.

Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. Rogers Communication had a net margin of 32.29% and a return on equity of 14.22%. The business’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rogers Communication, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Rogers Communication Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Rogers Communication’s payout ratio is presently 15.89%.

About Rogers Communication

Rogers Communications Inc is a Canadian integrated communications and media company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company provides a broad range of telecommunications services to residential and business customers across Canada, including wireless voice and data services, cable television, high-speed internet, and home phone services. In the enterprise market it offers managed IT, data center and cloud solutions, networking and connectivity services targeted to small businesses, large enterprises and public sector clients.

In addition to connectivity services, Rogers operates a significant media portfolio that includes national and regional television and radio assets, sports broadcasting properties and other content businesses.