Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Makes New $557,000 Investment in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

Key Points

• Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd has acquired 9,079 shares of Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. for approximately $557,000 in the first quarter, marking a notable entry into the company's shareholder base.
• Cogent Communications recently reported a quarterly loss of ($1.21) EPS, missing the consensus estimate and showing a 5.4% year-over-year revenue decline.
• The company declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.015, yielding 11.5%, while also initiating a $100 million stock buyback plan to boost shareholder value.

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,079 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 35.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the technology company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Cogent Communications by 9.7% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,497 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Cogent Communications by 56.3% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,035 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Prairieview Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 3.7% during the first quarter. Prairieview Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,142 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CCOI. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Cogent Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target 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 set a $40.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cogent Communications from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cogent Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total value of $88,776.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 36,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,339,038. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total value of $72,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $364,117.95. This represents a 16.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,663,978 shares of company stock valued at $82,687,283. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $37.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,875,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,627. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.30 and a beta of 0.81. 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's 50-day moving average price is $41.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.00. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.61 and a 52 week high of $86.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.93) by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $246.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $247.79 million. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 117.56% and a negative net margin of 21.57%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.68) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a $1.015 dividend. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 21st. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -89.43%.

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

Cogent Communications 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.