Scientech Research LLC Makes New $1.19 Million Investment in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC invested approximately $1.19 million in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc., acquiring 19,392 shares in the first quarter.
• Cogent Communications recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.015 per share, representing a dividend yield of 11.0%.
• Analysts currently hold a consensus rating of "Hold" for Cogent Communications stock, with a price target of $46.60.

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 19,392 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,189,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CCOI. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Cogent Communications by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,012,297 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $123,374,000 after acquiring an additional 469,028 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 752,158 shares of the technology company's stock worth $57,961,000 after acquiring an additional 235,842 shares during the period. 14B Captial Management LP grew its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 77.8% in the first quarter. 14B Captial Management LP now owns 448,000 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,467,000 after purchasing an additional 196,000 shares during the last quarter. BlackBarn Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $11,649,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cogent Communications in the first quarter valued at about $7,859,000. 92.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In related news, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.99, for a total transaction of $88,776.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 36,200 shares in the company, valued at $1,339,038. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 1,840,669 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.60, for a total transaction of $60,005,809.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,516,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,423,295.20. This represents a 54.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,733,978 shares of company stock valued at $85,984,983. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CCOI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cogent Communications from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Cogent Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Cogent Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.60.

Cogent Communications Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ CCOI traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.46. 917,766 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 811,007. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.02 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.31. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $29.61 and a one year high of $86.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.99.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.93) by ($0.28). Cogent Communications had a negative return on equity of 117.56% and a negative net margin of 21.57%.The business had revenue of $246.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.68) earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. will post -4.55 EPS for the current year.

Cogent Communications declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a $1.015 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. This is an increase from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.1%. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently -89.43%.

Cogent Communications Company 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.