Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.7143.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $65.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Cogent Communications from $33.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $23.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, November 7th.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ CCOI opened at $21.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.22. Cogent Communications has a one year low of $15.96 and a one year high of $84.06. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.25 and a beta of 0.83.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported ($0.87) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.28. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 19.72% and a negative return on equity of 208.70%. The company had revenue of $241.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.33) earnings per share. Cogent Communications’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Cogent Communications’s payout ratio is currently -1.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.34, for a total transaction of $51,216.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,656.08. This represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total value of $81,360.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $391,890.78. This represents a 17.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 36.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,078 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Cogent Communications by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,395 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 46,947 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,878,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Cogent Communications by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 20,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Cogent Communications by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 47,386 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,905,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

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.