Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Cogent an average recommendation of Hold (1 sell, 7 hold, 3 buy) with a 12‑month average price target of $26.78, and several firms have recently trimmed targets (e.g., RBC and JPMorgan to about $23).
• Cogent beat EPS estimates for the quarter (‑$0.64 vs. ‑$1.09) but missed revenue expectations with revenue down 4.7% year‑over‑year; the stock trades near $19.63 (1‑yr range $15.96–$71.55), the company remains unprofitable, announced a small $0.02 quarterly dividend, and insiders have been net sellers recently.

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.7778.

Several analysts recently weighed in on CCOI shares. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $23.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $37.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, February 23rd.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CCOI opened at $19.63 on Friday. Cogent Communications has a 1 year low of $15.96 and a 1 year high of $71.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $982.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.63.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.45. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 18.67%.The firm had revenue of $240.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.91) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Cogent Communications's payout ratio is presently -2.10%.

Insider Activity at Cogent Communications

In other news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 2,206 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total value of $50,804.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,940.47. This represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total value of $56,040.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,350. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,756 shares of company stock valued at $292,467 over the last three months. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Cogent Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Cogent Communications by 80.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Cogent Communications by 313.9% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 333.7% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,557 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

Cogent Communications NASDAQ: CCOI is a multinational Internet service provider specializing in high-speed Internet access and data transport services. The company operates one of the largest Tier 1 IP networks in the world, offering wholesale and enterprise customers reliable, low-latency connectivity. Cogent's core services include dedicated Internet access, Ethernet transport, wavelength services, and MPLS-based IP Virtual Private Networks, all delivered over its privately owned, fiber-optic backbone.

In addition to network connectivity, Cogent provides data center colocation and managed services designed to support businesses with demanding bandwidth and redundancy requirements.

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