Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Given Consensus 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 analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.25.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Cogent Communications to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.57, for a total value of $174,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 41,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,975,370. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.36, for a total transaction of $66,308.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,702.72. The trade was a 4.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,681 shares of company stock valued at $840,878. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCOI. PEAK6 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Cogent Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,720,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 56.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 56,595 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after purchasing an additional 20,510 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 136.5% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 145,223 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,025,000 after buying an additional 83,816 shares during the last quarter. Atom Investors LP bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the third quarter worth $4,565,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Cogent Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 509,344 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,255,000 after buying an additional 11,858 shares during the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Shares of CCOI opened at $61.50 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.43 and a 200-day moving average of $76.60. Cogent Communications has a 1 year low of $50.80 and a 1 year high of $86.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

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

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $1.005 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Cogent Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. Cogent Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -93.49%.

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.