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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Eleven analysts give Cogent an average rating of "Hold" (1 sell, 7 hold, 3 buy) with a 12-month price target of $26.67.
• Insider selling and ownership: Insiders sold 12,756 shares worth $292,467 in the last quarter (notable March sales by a VP and a director); insiders own 4.20% of the stock while institutions hold 92.45%.
• Recent results and financials: Q1 EPS was ($0.64), beating estimates by $0.45 while revenue of $240.5M missed expectations and the company remains unprofitable with negative ROE and an expected full-year EPS of -3.66; Cogent pays a small quarterly dividend (annualized $0.08, ~0.3% yield).

Shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat 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 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.6667.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Cogent Communications from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Williams Trading set a $40.00 target price on Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Cogent Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In other news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total value of $56,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $957,350. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $75,867.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $232,199. The trade was a 24.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cogent Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 2,162.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,109 shares of the technology company's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 10,618 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $341,000. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $193,000. Magnolia Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 1,290,204 shares of the technology company's stock worth $24,307,000 after purchasing an additional 43,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,049 shares of the technology company's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares in the last quarter. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ CCOI opened at $23.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -6.08 and a beta of 0.85. Cogent Communications has a 1 year low of $15.96 and a 1 year high of $56.88. The business's 50-day moving average is $20.75 and its 200 day moving average is $24.28.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.45. The company had revenue of $240.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.82 million. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 18.67%.Cogent Communications's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.91) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications will post -3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.10%.

About Cogent Communications

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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