Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Shares Down 8.3% – Here’s What Happened

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) shares dropped 8.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $72.98 and last traded at $73.47. Approximately 118,220 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 317,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.25.

Cogent Communications Trading Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.68 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.05.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The technology company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $252.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.49 million. Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. On average, research analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.005 per share. This represents a $4.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.50%. This is a boost from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 510.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CRO James Bubeck sold 1,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.60, for a total value of $147,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 49,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,794,917.20. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.61, for a total transaction of $362,928.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,555,618. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,440 shares of company stock valued at $1,057,910. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings 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. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 92.45% of the stock is 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.