Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Decreases Stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

Key Points

• Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. sharply cut its Cogent Communications stake by 80.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 62,895 shares and leaving it with 15,466 shares valued at about $333,000.
• Insider selling continued, with VP Henry W. Kilmer and CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed both trimming holdings in early March; insiders have sold 12,756 shares worth $292,467 over the last three months.
• Cogent’s latest results were mixed: it beat EPS expectations in the quarter, but revenue fell 3.2% year over year and analysts currently rate the stock a “Hold” on average with a $25.40 price target.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) by 80.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,466 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 62,895 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Cogent Communications were worth $333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CCOI. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Cogent Communications by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 73,710 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 22,700 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter worth $519,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 206.4% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 74,634 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 50,276 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cogent Communications by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,580,271 shares of the technology company's stock worth $120,311,000 after purchasing an additional 217,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,868 shares of the technology company's stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 9,909 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $56,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 41,000 shares in the company, valued at $957,350. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Thaddeus Gerard Weed sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total value of $109,755.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 202,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,588,232.50. This trade represents a 2.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,756 shares of company stock worth $292,467 over the last three months. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CCOI opened at $16.65 on Monday. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.82 and a twelve month high of $54.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.43. The stock has a market cap of $833.83 million, a P/E ratio of -4.69 and a beta of 0.85.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.03) by $0.20. Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 842.48% and a negative net margin of 17.53%.The company had revenue of $239.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $241.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.09) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Cogent Communications's payout ratio is currently -2.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price target (down from $23.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on Cogent Communications from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.40.

Cogent Communications 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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