Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.75.

Several analysts have recently commented on RCI shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Rogers Communications in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Bank of America downgraded Rogers Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Securities lifted their target price on Rogers Communications from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Rogers Communications from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rogers Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 2.6% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,501,927 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $425,341,000 after purchasing an additional 288,614 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 10.2% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,563,054 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $390,738,000 after purchasing an additional 974,937 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 53.9% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,303,371 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $233,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206,690 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 18.6% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,239,553 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $250,886,000 after purchasing an additional 977,924 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 371.0% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,053,559 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $203,334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980,525 shares during the period. 45.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rogers Communications Price Performance

NYSE:RCI opened at $28.43 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.69. Rogers Communications has a 12 month low of $27.63 and a 12 month high of $48.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.88.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) (TSE:RCI.B) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Rogers Communications had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 7.34%. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Rogers Communications will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rogers Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.3611 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Rogers Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.78%.

About Rogers Communications

Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping and express pickup services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands.