Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.25.

CCOI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Cogent Communications from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Cogent Communications from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI opened at $78.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.19 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.92 and its 200 day moving average is $70.29. Cogent Communications has a 52 week low of $50.80 and a 52 week high of $86.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported ($1.33) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.34) by $0.01. Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. The firm had revenue of $257.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.69 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.13) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cogent Communications will post -4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.995 per share. This represents a $3.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Cogent Communications’s payout ratio is presently 510.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 1,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total value of $108,783.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $831,424.44. This represents a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John B. Chang sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.67, for a total transaction of $100,338.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 71,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,130,138.60. This trade represents a 1.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,816 shares of company stock worth $1,530,087. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCOI. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Cogent Communications by 204.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 405 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Cogent Communications by 72.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 536 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Cogent Communications by 127.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cogent Communications

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.