Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,210,000 shares, an increase of 24.9% from the May 15th total of 4,170,000 shares. Currently, 11.9% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 710,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.3 days.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 1.1%

Cogent Communications stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $46.61. The stock had a trading volume of 613,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,062. Cogent Communications has a 52 week low of $43.65 and a 52 week high of $86.76. The business's 50 day moving average price is $50.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.89, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.62 and a beta of 0.72.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $247.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.81 million. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 70.29% and a negative net margin of 18.76%. Cogent Communications's revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.38) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were issued a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.67%. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -100.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other news, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $235,396.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 98,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,707,920. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,131,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $201,090,861.07. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 445,500 shares of company stock valued at $21,285,069. Company insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CCOI. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Cogent Communications in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Cogent Communications by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 618 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Cogent Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CCOI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cogent Communications to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.75.

Cogent Communications Company 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.

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