Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Purchases New Stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,213 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 618 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 623 shares of the technology company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 132.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 875 shares of the technology company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company's stock.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 3.7%

CCOI stock traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.99. 149,179 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 473,121. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.00 and a 12-month high of $86.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.73 and a beta of 0.76.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.05) by ($0.04). Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. The firm had revenue of $247.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.38) earnings per share. Cogent Communications's revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate 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, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $1.01 dividend. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.42%. This is an increase from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Cogent Communications's payout ratio is -100.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CCOI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Cogent Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. StockNews.com raised Cogent Communications to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Cogent Communications from $102.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $75.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $353,094.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 103,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,422,180. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the company's 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,681 shares of company stock worth $840,878. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cogent Communications 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.