Rogers Communication, Inc. (NYSE:RCI) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Rogers Communication saw a significant 31.2% decrease in short interest in August, dropping to 7.12 million shares, reflecting a reduced bearish sentiment among investors.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3672 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.1%, a positive change from its previous dividend.
• Barclays upgraded the stock's price target from $31.00 to $33.00, while the general consensus among analysts is a "Hold" rating with a price target of $59.00.

Rogers Communication, Inc. (NYSE:RCI - Get Free Report) TSE: RCI.B was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,120,000 shares, a decrease of 31.2% from the July 31st total of 10,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Rogers Communication Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCI traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.78. The stock had a trading volume of 739,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,206,696. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.36 and a 200-day moving average of $29.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.79. Rogers Communication has a 12-month low of $23.18 and a 12-month high of $41.20.

Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI - Get Free Report) TSE: RCI.B last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.12 billion. Rogers Communication had a net margin of 7.33% and a return on equity of 21.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rogers Communication will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rogers Communication Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.3672 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Rogers Communication's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Rogers Communication's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RCI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Rogers Communication from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rogers Communication

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RCI. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communication by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 158,002 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $4,855,000 after acquiring an additional 15,295 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communication by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 55,041 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 10,405 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communication by 224.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 121,483 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $3,733,000 after acquiring an additional 84,047 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communication by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 552,776 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $16,987,000 after acquiring an additional 19,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Rogers Communication by 78.2% during the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 50,395 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 22,110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.49% of the company's stock.

About Rogers Communication

Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping and express pickup services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands.