Capital World Investors Decreases Position in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

Key Points

• Capital World Investors cut its stake in Cogent by 44.7% in Q3, selling 426,906 shares and now holds 528,382 shares (~1.08%) valued at $20.26M, while institutional ownership stands at roughly 92.45% with Vanguard and other funds increasing positions.
• Company insiders have been selling recently: Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares and CFO Thaddeus Weed sold 4,850 shares on March 5, and insiders disposed of 12,756 shares (~$292,467) in the last three months (insiders own 11.40%).
• Shares opened at $19.63 (down ~8%), Cogent reported Q4 EPS of ($0.64) that beat estimates despite revenue falling 4.7%, announced a $0.02 quarterly dividend (0.4% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $26.78 target.

Capital World Investors lessened its stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) by 44.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 528,382 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 426,906 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned approximately 1.08% of Cogent Communications worth $20,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CCOI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cogent Communications by 5.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,362,821 shares of the technology company's stock worth $205,664,000 after buying an additional 270,975 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,279,440 shares of the technology company's stock worth $109,892,000 after acquiring an additional 267,143 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,788,235 shares of the technology company's stock worth $86,211,000 after acquiring an additional 13,510 shares during the period. Magnolia Group LLC increased its holdings in Cogent Communications by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 1,272,337 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,794,000 after acquiring an additional 179,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cogent Communications by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,060,367 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $51,127,000 after acquiring an additional 20,055 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cogent Communications

In other news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total transaction of $75,867.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,199. This represents a 24.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $109,755.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 202,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,588,232.50. This represents a 2.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cogent Communications Trading Down 8.0%

Shares of Cogent Communications stock opened at $19.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.96 and a 1 year high of $71.55. The firm has a market cap of $982.68 million, a PE ratio of -5.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.63.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The technology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.45. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 18.67% and a negative return on equity of 842.48%. The firm had revenue of $240.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.91) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on CCOI shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $23.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $37.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.78.

Cogent Communications Company Profile

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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