Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for CCOI Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has decreased its Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimate for Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) from ($0.99) to ($1.00), and the full-year estimate is now projected at ($4.55) EPS.
• Cogent Communications reported ($1.21) EPS for its last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.93) by ($0.28), with revenue down by 5.4% year-over-year.
• The company recently initiated a share repurchase program valued at $100 million, indicating confidence that its shares are undervalued.

Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Cogent Communications in a report issued on Tuesday, September 16th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the technology company will earn ($1.00) per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of ($0.99). The consensus estimate for Cogent Communications' current full-year earnings is ($4.55) per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Cogent Communications' Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.91) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.79) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($3.65) EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at ($0.82) EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at ($0.46) EPS and FY2027 earnings at ($1.65) EPS.

Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $246.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.79 million. Cogent Communications had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a negative return on equity of 117.56%. Cogent Communications's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.68) EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cogent Communications from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup cut Cogent Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Cogent Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Cogent Communications in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.60.

Cogent Communications Stock Up 7.4%

Shares of CCOI traded up $2.70 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,006,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,969. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.15. Cogent Communications has a 1-year low of $29.61 and a 1-year high of $86.76. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.67 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.06.

Cogent Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $1.015 per share. This is a boost from Cogent Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.01. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.3%. Cogent Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -89.43%.

Cogent Communications declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cogent Communications

In other Cogent Communications news, Director Sheryl Lynn Kennedy sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total value of $72,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,117.95. The trade was a 16.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dave Schaeffer sold 818,909 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $22,519,997.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 697,143 shares in the company, valued at $19,171,432.50. The trade was a 54.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,663,978 shares of company stock worth $82,687,283. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 210,977 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,935,000 after purchasing an additional 4,781 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cogent Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $557,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 46,947 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,078 shares of the technology company's stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Cogent Communications by 223.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,823 shares of the technology company's stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 8,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.45% of the company's stock.

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.