Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Sets New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $43.65 and last traded at $44.85, with a volume of 174934 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CCOI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Cogent Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Cogent Communications to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Cogent Communications from $102.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cogent Communications has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.75.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 2.2%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.22. The company has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.12 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $247.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.38) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $1.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $4.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.62%. This is an increase from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. Cogent Communications's payout ratio is presently -100.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In related news, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 956 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.36, for a total transaction of $66,308.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,652 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,702.72. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.27, for a total value of $1,156,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,176,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $193,256,880.67. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,681 shares of company stock worth $1,997,628. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cogent Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCOI. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 52,679 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,055,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Cogent Communications by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 5,196 shares of the technology company's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 33,883 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,611,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.45% of the company's stock.

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.