Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Short Interest Up 22.1% in February

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 7,419,016 shares, an increase of 22.1% from the February 12th total of 6,074,190 shares. Currently, 16.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,019,124 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 2,019,124 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 16.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 2,206 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $50,804.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,940.47. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $75,867.00. Following 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCOI. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Cogent Communications by 313.9% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Cogent Communications by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

CCOI stock traded up $0.99 on Tuesday, hitting $20.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 560,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,157,247. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.24. Cogent Communications has a 1 year low of $15.96 and a 1 year high of $71.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.37 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.45. The company had revenue of $240.52 million for 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%. Cogent Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.91) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CCOI shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Cogent Communications from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Williams Trading set a $40.00 target price on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cogent Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.78.

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.