Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Shares Down 5.6% – What’s Next?

Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) fell 5.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $21.39 and last traded at $21.3050. 43,559 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 1,040,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCOI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $37.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.71.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 3.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.35 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.68.

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

Cogent Communications Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total value of $81,360.00. Following the sale, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,400 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 10,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,656.08. This trade represents a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CCOI. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the third quarter valued at $27,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 297.8% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

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.