Short Interest in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Grows By 15.3%

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,620,000 shares, an increase of 15.3% from the December 15th total of 3,140,000 shares. Approximately 8.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 404,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.9 days.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.60. 217,042 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 399,608. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.08 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.32 and its 200 day moving average is $74.41. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $50.80 and a fifty-two week high of $86.76.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported ($1.33) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.34) by $0.01. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 36.31% and a net margin of 3.73%. The business had revenue of $257.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.13) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.995 dividend. This is a boost from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. This represents a $3.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 510.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 1,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total value of $108,783.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $831,424.44. The trade was a 11.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John B. Chang sold 2,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $183,334.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 69,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,572,413. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,136 shares of company stock worth $1,939,749. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 0.5% in the third quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 41,079 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,119,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 72.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 536 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,984 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 10,401 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Cogent Communications from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.25.

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.