UBS Group AG Lowers Stake in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. $CCOI

Key Points

• UBS Group AG reduced its stake in Cogent Communications by 34% in the fourth quarter, selling 128,027 shares and leaving it with 248,555 shares worth about $5.36 million.
• Analysts remain cautious on CCOI: UBS, Citi, and JPMorgan all maintained neutral ratings while lowering price targets, and the stock’s consensus rating is currently “Hold” with an average target of $24.90.
• Recent results showed a smaller-than-expected loss, with Cogent reporting EPS of -$0.83 versus the -$1.03 estimate, though revenue still missed forecasts and fell 3.2% year over year.

UBS Group AG cut its holdings in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) by 34.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 248,555 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 128,027 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.51% of Cogent Communications worth $5,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Cogent Communications in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Cogent Communications in the first quarter worth about $104,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Cogent Communications in the second quarter worth about $98,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cogent Communications in the third quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cogent Communications by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. 92.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (down from $23.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Cogent Communications from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cogent Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.90.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

CCOI stock opened at $18.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $919.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.17 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.59. Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $14.82 and a one year high of $54.37.

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

Cogent Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently -2.25%.

Insider Activity at Cogent Communications

In related news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.99, for a total value of $75,867.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $232,199. This trade represents a 24.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lewis H. Ferguson sold 2,206 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.03, for a total transaction of $50,804.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,940.47. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,756 shares of company stock valued at $292,467. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

About Cogent Communications

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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