Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

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

Several research firms have recently commented on CCOI. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Cogent Communications in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Cogent Communications stock opened at $75.78 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.15 and a beta of 0.40. Cogent Communications has a 52 week low of $50.80 and a 52 week high of $86.76.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported ($1.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $257.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.13) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.995 dividend. This represents a $3.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This is an increase from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 510.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Blake Bath sold 6,220 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.69, for a total value of $520,551.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $836,900. This trade represents a 38.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.58, for a total transaction of $391,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,219,830. This trade represents a 5.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,136 shares of company stock valued at $1,939,749. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 204.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 405 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 72.9% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 536 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 127.5% during 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 during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cogent Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. 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.