BlackBarn Capital Partners LP Purchases Shares of 190,000 Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

Key Points

• BlackBarn Capital Partners LP acquired 190,000 shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. for approximately $11.65 million, making it the fund's 11th largest position, representing around 0.7% of its total holdings.
• Cogent Communications recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $1.01 to $1.015 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 10.6%.
• Despite a negative earnings report, where EPS fell short of estimates, analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating for Cogent, with an average price target of $57.50.

BlackBarn Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 190,000 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $11,649,000. Cogent Communications comprises approximately 0.7% of BlackBarn Capital Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. BlackBarn Capital Partners LP owned approximately 0.38% of Cogent Communications as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 52,679 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,055,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Cogent Communications by 58.9% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. grew its stake in Cogent Communications by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 42,739 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,497 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.45% of the company's stock.

Cogent Communications Price Performance

Cogent Communications stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.79. 1,194,689 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 768,857. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.61 and a 52 week high of $86.76. 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 cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of -8.32 and a beta of 0.68. The company's fifty day moving average is $44.98 and its 200-day moving average is $54.52.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported ($1.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $246.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $247.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.68) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, August 7th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.015 per share. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.7%. This is an increase from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently -89.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $115,080.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 38,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,870. This trade represents a 5.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 98,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,707,920. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,060,878 shares of company stock worth $101,696,333. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CCOI. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cogent Communications from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup cut shares of Cogent Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

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.