Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Receives $46.60 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Key Points

• Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from five brokerages, with an average one-year price target of $46.60.
• Insider selling activity has been notable, with executives selling significant shares in the past month, totaling nearly 2.66 million shares valued at over $82 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.015 per share, indicating a yield of 10.7%, and launched a share repurchase plan worth $100 million, suggesting a belief that its shares are undervalued.

Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.60.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Cogent Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut Cogent Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $67.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cogent Communications from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Friday, August 8th.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ CCOI traded up $3.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,174,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,515,696. Cogent Communications has a 52 week low of $29.61 and a 52 week high of $86.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.84 and a beta of 0.81.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported ($1.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.93) by ($0.28). Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a negative return on equity of 117.56%. The business had revenue of $246.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $247.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.68) EPS. The business's revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $1.015 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.1%. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Cogent Communications's payout ratio is -89.43%.

Cogent Communications declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 7th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Cogent Communications

In related news, CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 1,840,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.60, for a total transaction of $60,005,809.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,516,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,423,295.20. This trade represents a 54.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total value of $88,776.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 36,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,339,038. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,663,978 shares of company stock valued at $82,687,283. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Cogent Communications by 16,880.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 30,225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 30,047 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Cogent Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,201,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Cogent Communications by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,696 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,976,000 after acquiring an additional 10,783 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Cogent Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $566,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $98,000. 92.45% of the stock is currently 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.