Short Interest in Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) Expands By 19.7%

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,500,000 shares, a growth of 19.7% from the March 31st total of 3,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 483,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.3 days. Approximately 10.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

Cogent Communications Stock Performance

CCOI stock traded up $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.46. 582,862 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 460,928. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. Cogent Communications has a twelve month low of $47.54 and a twelve month high of $86.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.38 and a beta of 0.69.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The technology company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $252.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.49 million. Cogent Communications had a net margin of 3.73% and a negative return on equity of 36.31%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cogent Communications will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.005 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.12%. Cogent Communications's payout ratio is -93.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 1,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total transaction of $103,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,325.12. This trade represents a 12.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Henry W. Kilmer sold 2,400 shares of Cogent Communications stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.57, for a total value of $174,168.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 41,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,975,370. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,681 shares of company stock valued at $840,878. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cogent Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $284,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Cogent Communications by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in Cogent Communications by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 5,645 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 623 shares of the technology company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Cogent Communications by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,326 shares of the technology company's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.45% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cogent Communications to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.25.

About Cogent Communications

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.

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