Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Makes New $1.39 Million Investment in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

Key Points

• Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC made a new investment in Cogent Communications, purchasing 22,706 shares valued at approximately $1.39 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Cogent Communications, with Brown Advisory Inc. raising its position by 24.1% and DigitalBridge Group Inc. increasing its stake by 246% in the fourth quarter.
• Cogent Communications announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.015 per share, representing an annual yield of 10.6%, and authorized a $100 million share repurchase plan after reporting disappointing earnings.

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 22,706 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,392,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in Cogent Communications by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,897,090 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $146,209,000 after acquiring an additional 368,129 shares in the last quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 246.0% during the 4th quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 907,916 shares of the technology company's stock worth $69,973,000 after purchasing an additional 645,521 shares during the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 808,061 shares of the technology company's stock worth $49,542,000 after purchasing an additional 109,543 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 752,158 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,961,000 after purchasing an additional 235,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 673,921 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $41,318,000 after purchasing an additional 89,536 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In related news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total value of $72,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $364,117.95. The trade was a 16.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $115,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 38,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,850,870. This trade represents a 5.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,062,078 shares of company stock worth $101,753,426 over the last three months. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CCOI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cogent Communications from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup lowered Cogent Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Cogent Communications from $102.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cogent Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.50.

Cogent Communications Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CCOI opened at $38.30 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.64. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.61 and a 52 week high of $86.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.44 and a beta of 0.68.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported ($1.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $246.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $247.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.68) earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $1.015 dividend. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.6%. 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 (DPR) is -89.43%.

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.

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